SHENZHEN - The growth moderation is not a bad thing for China, yet the country must avoid a plunge in economic growth, said Yao Jingyuan, a special researcher with the Councillor's Office of the State Council, or China's cabinet.

Stabilizing economic growth will be of great importance for the government next year as a sharp fall in the growth rate will cause problems in many sectors, including employment, fiscal revenue, enterprises' profitability and social stability, Yao said at a forum Sunday.

Yao noted the country's economy is in a downward movement, which is a desired outcome of macro-economic regulation and also because of the global economic woes and the country's efforts to transform its economic development pattern.

The country's export outlook will be grimmer in 2012 than this year, he added.

China's economic growth has been slowing all year. Its GDP growth slowed to 9.1 percent in the third quarter from 9.5 percent in the second quarter and 9.7 percent in the first quarter.

The country will seek stable and relatively fast economic growth next year amid the "extremely grim and complicated" global outlook, according to a statement issued after the closure of a three-day central economic work conference on Wednesday.