Growth target can be cut

It would not be surprising — actually it is highly necessary — for China to downgrade its GDP growth target for 2015 at the upcoming Central Economic Work Conference scheduled for December.

The target may be cut to 7 percent from 7.5 percent this year, according to media reports. While these reports are yet to be verified, it is both necessary and feasible for the country to soften its economic expansion ambitions and shift to a more sustainable growth model.

After more than 30 years of fast growth, China has become the second-largest economy, with 600 million people pulled out of poverty. However, the remarkable growth has been accompanied with problems ranging from environmental degradation to low efficiency of growth.

To achieve a more balanced and sustainable growth, the country has started to gradually pay more attention to environmental protection and reduction of use of energy and sources in production. Still, the recent smog that has clouded the northern areas recently reminds us of the necessity to take bolder moves to tackle environmental problems.

To that end, more environmental protection measures are necessary, but primarily, economic activities have a crucial bearing on the environment. It is worth trying to further lower our growth expectations to facilitate a more balanced development model.

Moreover, given the difficulties the Chinese economy is suffering, it is more advisable for the country to set a lower target for next year. It would pay a dear price if it uses large-scale stimulus to jazz up real growth.

Research institutions have forecast that given the current growth trend, China’s year-on-year growth may slip to around 7 percent thanks to the drag of the cooling real estate sector.