New normal to be logic of China's future growth

Chinese central authorities said on Thursday that the country must understand the new normal, adjust to the new normal, and develop under the new normal.

Coming to terms with the new normal will be the "main logic" for economic growth for some time, according to a statement released after the Central Economic Work Conference that concluded on Thursday.

The Chinese economy has entered a period of medium-to-high growth from high growth, and a shift to quality and efficiency from quantity and speed in terms of development; as well as of a restructuring that stresses improving current production practices instead of expansion, and economic momentum increasingly driven by new factors rather than conventional sectors.

"The economy is evolving into a more advanced growth mode, a more complex division of labor, and a more reasonable structure," the statement said.

Specifically, the evolution can be seen through multiple changes: consumption is more personal and diverse; people are becoming more aware of product safety; investment is flowing into new sectors; and exports are losing their comparative advantages in cost control and are in dire need of new advantages.

An aging society and decreasing rural work force mean growth must come through innovation and technology; more rigid energy and environmental constraints are forcing low-carbon growth, the statement said.

The new normal has not changed the strategic importance of a period that will see great achievements, nor has it changed the fundamentals of the Chinese economy, only the development mode and economic structure.

The new normal demands more importance be attached to people's needs, market analyses and consumption psychology.

More significance is to be attached to property ownership and intellectual property rights, boosting entrepreneurship, education, building a green society, scientific and technological progress, and innovation, according to the statement.