China Voice: Economic growth slowdown "nothing to be afraid of"

China has reason to remain optimistic as experts said its lower growth target was "nothing to be afraid of".

"The growth rate slowdown cannot hide the fact that gross domestic product [GDP] has expanded." Tan Yaling, president of the China Forex Investment Research Institute, told Xinhua on Monday.

The central government has lowered this year's growth target to approximately 7 percent, prompting concerns of an economic retreat.

The move came after China said its GDP was 63.65 trillion yuan (10.37 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2014, up 7.4 percent year on year, the weakest annual expansion in 24 years.

"The growth rate is not the only parameter used to judge the economy," said Tan, adding that economic expansion and GDP per capita must also be considered.

China's GDP per capita has continued to grow, hitting 7,485 dollars in 2014, 1,385 dollars more than in 2012.

"Disparities of growth rates between China and the rest of the world could mean risks," said Tan.

According to World Bank estimations, the global economy expanded by 3 percent in 2015, slightly higher than in 2014.

As the world's second biggest economy has entered a "new normal" phase of slower growth, Tan said, the real challenge was how to shift China's growth from quant-type to a quality-type, technology-based one.

"We should mitigate the growth rate to focus on restructuring." She said.

Tan further noted that great growth potential could be sparked by transforming China from a "manufacturing power" into a "manufacturing brand".

Although China is a manufacturing industry leader, it lacks branded products, she added.

Justin Yifu Lin, former chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank, also highlighted China's "growth potential" in a seminar held Friday at Beijing University.

Lin said: "China has an annual growth potential of 8 percent for 20 years starting from 2008."

Lin's remarks were based on his own comparative research into the economies of China, Japan, Singapore, Republic of Korea and China's Taiwan region.

His optimism has been fueled by the performance of sectors like equipment manufacturing, e-commerce, Internet finance, new energy and environmental protection, which he said had growth potential.

China's rich investment resources, including large foreign currency reserves and high private savings, would also help in turning "growth potential" into down-to-earth "growth", according to Lin.

But Lin warned that both weak international demand and domestic challenges like corruption, pollution, income and urban-rural gaps could threaten growth.

Overall, Lin believes that China could meet this year's growth target, adding that he was optimistic about the future of the economy as Chinese people have enough talent to overcome difficulties and tackle challenges.

China's 2015 target growth rate "takes into consideration what is needed and what is possible. This target is both aligned with our goal of finishing building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and is appropriate in terms of the need to grow and upgrade our economy," according to a government work report delivered by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the parliament's annual session this year.

"If China's economy can grow at this rate for a relatively long time, we will secure a more solid material foundation for modernization," Li added. Endi