Above 6.5 percent possible

In the current global economic situation, the developed economies, due to a lack of strong government support for carrying out structural reforms - unlike China - are likely to experience an economic slowdown, similar to what Japan has been experiencing for over two decades. The sluggish external growth environment will have a negative effect on China’s trade. In this regard, China must rely on domestic demand.

Domestic demand includes investment and consumption. China still has a lot of investment opportunities. Plagued by overcapacity in some sectors, it is necessary for China to continue to upgrade its industries. There is still room for improvement in infrastructure. Compared to other developing countries, China has relatively good infrastructure, but for the most part, investments have been used to improve highways, airports and ports, while urban infrastructure, such as subways and underground pipeline networks, has not been well constructed. The government also needs to tighten environmental protection regulations, as China suffers from serious environmental problems after years of high-speed development.

As China is still in the process of urbanization, this will bring about substantial investments in housing and public infrastructure projects in the future. This is a very good investment opportunity.

China has a good reserve of policy instruments to help the country meet various challenges. I believe that it should not be a problem to maintain a growth rate of above 6.5 percent if China makes full use of its policy instruments. This relatively high growth will create a good environment for cutting excessive industrial capacity, downsizing market inventories and deleveraging to guard against risks.

As long as we take advantage of these favorable conditions, China will be able to fulfill its development target, which is to maintain a growth rate of not less than 6.5 percent as set by the 13th Five-year Plan (2016-20), and meet the goal of doubling the 2010 GDP and per capita income by 2020. China can also create a good external environment for the supply-side reform, and will continue to be the main engine of world economic growth.