Rate within reasonable range

It would be wrong to interpret the lackluster economic figures in the first quarter as an indication of crisis

Anyone "looking for a crisis" will interpret China's lackluster economic figures for the first quarter, such as its 7.4 percent growth in GDP, decline in exports and a slump in the producer price index, as signs of the further worsening of its economic conditions and an excuse for a new round of stimulus measures.

However, five years after the outbreak of the global financial crisis, an objective judgment of China's current economic situation based on the economic data first needs to realize that short-term figures herald different economic trends at different times. If China's just unveiled first-quarter economic data signal ongoing economic deterioration, they would justify the adoption of some stimulus policies. However, if they are merely normal and regular economic fluctuations during a period of structural transition, then they should not be interpreted as signifying a crisis. Any large-scale stimulus packages adopted at this time would sabotage the normal trajectory of the country's economic development, as it is not a time of crisis.