'Lehman moment' unlikely in China, according to former Fed head

"The main task for China in the next decade would be the transformation of the growth model. It is still in the very early stage, but the Chinese have shown great capability to make such transitions," Ben Bernanke, former chairman of the United States Federal Reserve, said at the World Business Forum in Hong Kong on Tuesday.

The two-day forum, the first ever WBF to be held in the special administrative region, saw a stellar lineup of speakers from around the globe addressing the 1,200-odd delegates at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

"The current slowdown in growth is not the result of fiscal or monetary policies, but economic transformation. It is the right thing to do," Bernanke said, while noting the need for diversification into service sectors. "Deregulation is necessary to encourage the private sector to initiate all the changes."