"China’s slower expansion in the first quarter is “normal” as the world’s second-largest economy sacrifices growth to make structural reforms, People’s Bank of China GovernorZhou Xiaochuan said".
"While a “mild” global slowdown is affecting China, the 7.7 percent gain was “overall normal” compared with the government’s 2013 target of 7.5 percent, Zhou told Bloomberg News outside a meeting of the International Monetary Fund in Washington on April"
“China’s undergoing economic restructuring, which sometimes is not in lockstep with growth,” Zhou said. “We need to sacrifice short-term growth for the purposes of reforms and structural adjustments.”
China’s economy had a stable start in the first quarter and growth was within a reasonable range, Zhou said at the IMF meeting, according to a statement on the PBOC’s website.
In China, “structural adjustment has scored notable achievements,” according to a PBOC statement. "The contribution of service industries to economic growth in the first quarter exceeded that of manufacturing for the first time, it said".
"In his statement to the IMF, Zhou reiterated that changes in China’s financial sector will involve “further interest-rate liberalization, capital account convertibility and exchange rate reform.” While inflation has been “relatively stable,” the government remains on guard due to rising costs for labor and raw materials, pricing reforms and excessive global liquidity, Zhou said".
Source: Bloomberg
