New engines to shore up China's growth

China has huge potential to shore up industrial development and economic growth, according to a senior official with the top economic planner.

Despite the febrile environment in the traditional industry sector, the service and high-tech sectors are emerging as strong growth drivers, Wang Changlin, a senior economist with the National Development and Reform Commission, told "Guangming Daily".

The traditional industrial sector, such as heavy and chemical industries, and export-led industries, have seen shrinking growth and remarkable downward pressure due to flagging demand in recent years, Wang remarked.

The tertiary industry, however, grew 8.4 percent year on year in the first half (H1) of 2015, outpacing the general GDP growth, and up 0.4 percentage points compared to the same period last year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The service sector, a major tertiary industry player, accounted for almost half of China's GDP in the first six months, contributing around 81 percent to total GDP growth.

High-tech industries are also reporting healthy growth, Wang said. In H1 high-tech manufacturing value-added industrial output grew by 10.5 percent year on year, outpacing overall industrial growth.

China's new economic growth areas are taking shape and China's economic structure is improving, Premier Li Keqiang said at the Summer Davos meeting earlier this month, adding consumer demand for information, cultural and health products, and tourism were booming.

China set its 2015 economic growth target at "around 7 percent," the lowest in more than a decade. H1 GDP hit the target, with growth up 7 percent from the same period last year. Endi