That is a sharp easing from a 6.1% gain in 2019, and is below the 5.4% growth forecast in the March poll
Goldman said it did not expect GDP to return to the pre-virus trend until the third quarter.
If China is already off the mark with its digital currency, who will the future belong to when this ultimate goal is achieved?
Next year will be crucial for the ruling Communist Party to fulfill its goal of doubling gross domestic product (GDP) and incomes in the decade to 2020
Beijing has stepped up support for the economy with major tax and rate cuts and has scrapped foreign investment restrictions in its stock market
China's trade surplus also dropped sharply in August to $34.83 billion
The trade war with the US has hit China's economy, compounding a global slowdown
The world's second-largest economy's third quarter growth was the weakest year-on-year expansion since 2009 global financial crisis
China's gross domestic product grew 6.8 percent in the October to December period from a year earlier
The reading comes as China kicks its war on pollution into full gear, halving industrial production for some steel smelters and mills this winter.
Policymakers will be under pressure to balance efforts to tackle debt with the need to keep growth on a steady path
The Australian dollar, seen as a proxy for China demand, was little changed
China increased its defence spending by 7.6% allocating about 954 billion yuan