Long-term prospects still hazy

Low productivity gains, returns on investment pose problems, top think tank warns

Despite the slight pickup in economic growth during the second quarter, long-term prospects are not that rosy for China, given the feeble productivity gains and declining returns on investment, the nation's top think tank said on Friday.

The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said in its quarterly economic analysis that China's potential economic growth rate has fallen to between 6.4 percent to 7.8 percent for the next five years.