Caterpillar eyes opportunities in China's 'new normal' era

Despite a slight slowdown, China's economic growth will be more sustainable and benefit companies like Caterpillar, said Doug Oberhelman, chairman and CEO of U.S.-based construction and mining equipment manufacturer Caterpillar.

With the development of the Chinese economy, it is inevitable for the world's second largest economy to transit to a "new normal" period, Oberhelman said Monday in Beijing at a ceremony celebrating the 40th anniversary of its entry into the Chinese market.

China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 7.4 percent last year, its slowest pace since 1990.

A moderated economic growth rate will have positive implications in the long run and it will be conducive to China and the rest of the world, he said.

"There is still a long way for China to go" in developing its economy, as about 200 million Chinese people are still living in poverty, said Oberhelman, adding that the company is supporting China's sustainable growth in sectors like infrastructure, energy saving and emission reduction.

China's proposals to build the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, known as the "Belt and Road" initiatives, are "exciting" news, as they are creating the "single biggest construction project in the history of the planet" with a combined population of 4.4 billion along the belt and road, he said.