It is possible for future growth to be higher

The GDP growth in the second quarter of this year was 6.7 percent, the same as that in the first quarter. Despite the slowdown in private sector investment - at 2.8 percent a year - the total social investment grew 9 percent in the first half. And total trade and exports grew 0.1 percent and 1.2 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, arresting the declining trend in China's global trade.

Import dropped just 1.2 percent in the second quarter, an improvement of 7.2 percentage points over the first quarter, which is a good sign since global trade has been a strong factor in China's growth.

Although its economic growth was relatively low in the first half, China managed to create 7.17 million new urban jobs, admirable by any international standard and an encouraging sign that structural change has started yielding results.