Slowdown can be tolerated

The government will push forward further reforms and opening-up to release the potential for economic growth

The central government has made consistent efforts to enforce its well-conceived reform and development roadmap, but the recent gloomy economic data has fuelled suspicions that the government might slow its reform drive and launch a new stimulus package to boost the slowed economy.

China has seen a tangible decline in its industrial production and investment growth in recent months, and its export growth has also slackened. The country's gross domestic product is expected to slow to 7.4 percent in the first quarter, slightly lower than the yearly 7.5 percent target set by the government, and such a downturn momentum will likely continue into the second quarter. This economic deceleration has once again given rise to the question, will the government intervene with some stimulus measures?