China's economy to steer clear of rapid slowdown in new era: Economist

BEIJING — The Chinese economy will be able to steer clear of rapid declines of GDP growth during the new development era, a prominent economist has said, but ruling out the possibility of an immediate rebound.

"After getting rid of the downward trend, the growth will level out in the future, rather than accelerating quickly," Liu Yuanchun, vice president of Renmin University of China, said when addressing a forum.

The economy showed strong resilience in the first three quarters as reforms created fresh momentum, with GDP expansion holding steady at 6.9 percent year-on-year. Services and consumption played a greater role in driving growth, and high-end manufacturing and IT sector witnessed booming increases.

Liu expects the country's economic restructuring will continue to generate tangible results, with structural improvements in both external and internal demand.

His remarks came after a report to the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China said the economy is in "the new era, a pivotal period for transforming the growth model, improving economic structure, and fostering new drivers of growth."

China has been transitioning from a phase of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development, according to the report.

Liu said that risks in the economy would be eased in the new era but attention should remain.

"The downward cycle in the financial sector will likely be more complicated than predictions, which will lead to a very different deleveraging process compared with the European and US market," Liu said. "It is not the time to sound the all clear yet."