Growth may moderate but will remain stable, analysts say

The Chinese economy is expected to remain resilient this year, and policymakers need to focus on reform and prevention of financial risks to improve the quality of growth, economists said.

China's year-on-year GDP growth reached 6.9 percent last year, which beat general market expectations, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

"China's GDP growth in 2017 indeed surprised us on the upside," said World Bank Lead Economist for China John Litwack, who attributed the high growth rate to the resurgence in the world economy, which increased demand for China's exports, and greater business and investor confidence about China.