Mere pace is no good gauge of Chinese economic growth

The 7.4 percent growth China achieved in 2014 hit the headlines of the global press immediately after it was announced Tuesday, once again testifying to a worldwide fervor for speed.

Some will not hesitate to tag the pace, the slowest in 24 years, as a sign that the world's second-largest economy is losing steam. But as has been repeatedly proven, such gloom-mongering will only make a mockery of its believers.

Against the general backdrop of China's painstaking efforts to restructure its economy, the pace was in line with mainstream market expectations, and a mere number is far from enough to describe the real landscape of the global economy powerhouse.

After years of double-digit growth, China's economy has entered a new stage of slower but healthier expansion. Overemphasizing the slower pace misses the essence of the ongoing major transition China has embarked upon.

As designed by Beijing, the pace on its own no longer plays the biggest part in gauging the country's economic performance. Nor does the government use specific numbers to guide its work.

In 2014, Beijing picked loose terms such as "around 7.5 percent" to set the range of growth it would be conformable with. Meanwhile, it made very clear of the reform agenda to support sustainable growth in the long run.

Besides Chinese policy-makers, China watchers worldwide acknowledge that a simple indicator will never suffice as the true barometer of the economic performance of any country, not least such big ones like China.

The crystal ball is in the hands of those who can grasp the general picture of China's economic and political reality. And what is of more importance is to find out how successfully the country can carry out reform measures in accordance with its well-mulled agenda.

In today's China, the importance of growth speed is eclipsed by the complex structural reforms going on in its economy and society. Focusing on the slowdown can only create the illusion that the world's biggest developing country and second largest economy is somehow on the verge of a collapse.

Yet the truth is that the Chinese economy has succeeded in maintaining steady growth against global economic headwinds and China's employment situation has been continuously improving thanks to the blossoming of the services sector.

On the global landscape, which is fraught with uncertainties in the developed world and fluctuations in international markets, the Chinese economy still represents a bright spot and functions as a ballast for the world economy.

Smart global investors have shown increasing confidence in China's reforms and future development. Their continuous purchasing of Chinese assets demonstrates their optimism about the country's economic outlook and further improvement of its investment climate in the coming years.

In 2015, China has to deal with bigger downward risks. Beijing needs to adhere steadfastly to the path of comprehensively deepening reforms so as to foster a more market-oriented and mature economy and further unleash its growth potential.

China's economic growth has indeed slowed down, but it should not be allowed to eclipse the fact that a healthier Chinese economy growing at a reasonable pace benefits the world for the long run.