The end of central planning

China is moving away from its once single-minded emphasis on growth targets, instead it is stressing the quality of growth

'Isn't it now time for China to abandon the concept of a growth target?"

That was the question I asked Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei this week at the 15th annual China Development Forum, which brings together top Chinese officials and an international delegation of academics, leaders of multilateral organizations, and business executives. Having attended the CDF since former Premier Zhu Rongji initiated it in 2000, I can attest to its role as one of China's most important platforms for debate. Zhu welcomed the exchange of views at the Forum as a true intellectual test for China's reformers.