pJan 6, 2009, BEIJING (REUTERS) -- China's economy will probably grow by about 8 percent this year, the central bank's research bureau and other economists forecast on Tuesday, the latest expressions of confidence that authorities can engineer a soft landing./ppMany independent analysts have predicted a sharp slowdown for the world's fourth-largest economy, to as little as 5 percent, as factory output growth grinds to a halt and exports shrink in the face of falling demand in the United States and Europe./ppHowever, government officials and researchers have begun to centre on the view that China can maintain growth of 8 percent this year -- the pace Beijing considers necessary to create enough new jobs to preserve social stability./ppThe research bureau of the People's Bank of China added its voice to that consensus, saying it expects a relatively modest slowdown from its estimate of 9.3 percent growth for all of 2008. The ...