(ECNS) - Dai Xianglong, former governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said China's economy can maintain an effective growth rate of around 6 percent in the next 10 years.
Speaking at the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference, Dai stated even a conservative estimate puts the figure above 5 percent, economic news site caixin.com reported. [Special coverage]
"China has maintained an annual average growth rate of 7.9 percent in the past four decades since opening up and reform in 1978, and 6.9 percent on average in the last five years. This is in no way a recession or a sign of an economic cycle," said Dai, adding that the decline is actually due to a proactive, effective economic adjustment strategy.
Dai also said China's economic growth has slowed but the country has seen general progress from a technical or economic result perspective.
"We don't pursue speed for speed’s sake alone and instead want a quality-oriented speed," he explained.