China's communist party will hold a key annual meeting in October, with the focus on how to slow the rapid pace of the Asian giant's investment-driven economic growth, state media said Monday.

The party's nearly 200-strong central committee will also look at ways to improve "social harmony" at the meeting, Xinhua news agency cited the party's politburo as announcing Monday.

Each year, at what is arguably the most important event on China's political calendar, the party's central committee meets to review the nation's economic and general situation over the past year and make plans for the coming year.

China last week announced a blistering 11.3 percent year-on-year growth rate in the second quarter of 2006, accelerating from the 10.3 percent expansion seen in the first quarter and giving a first half growth rate of 10.9 percent.

The pace is considered too fast, with much of it driven by excessive investment, creating overheating in sectors like the automobile and property industries.

"The country is still facing some prominent contradictions like an excessive fast growth of investment, an excessive consumption of energy, and an increase of pressure on the environment," Xinhua quoted the politburo as saying.

On the social front, Xinhua quoted the politburo meeting as saying: "Our country now enjoys a harmonious society in general, but there do exist quite a few contradictions and problems that have affected the social harmony."

In a sign of what could be adopted at the October meeting, Chinese President Hu Jintao was quoted by Xinhua on Monday as saying that fixed-asset investment should be reined in during the second half of 2006.

In comments made Friday, Hu said more effective macroeconomic control measures should be taken on loans, land supply and environmental protection in order to restrain growth in high energy-consuming and polluting industries.

In the second half of 2006, more investment should be channeled towards the social sector, especially for rural education, medical care and culture, he said.

Efforts should also be made to foster domestic demand, especially consumption by farmers and medium- and low-income urban residents, the president said.

The president also included the tackling of China's huge trade surplus and the widening rich-poor divide as priorities for the latter half of the year.