While the continuing deceleration of Chinese growth may be a source of concern for the global economy, Chinese authorities should keep their attention on economic reforms that ultimately will contribute to more stable growth in the world's second-largest economy.
The 7.4 percent growth in China's gross domestic product in the January-March period was the slowest since the July-September quarter of 2012. After achieving double-digit growth for five years in a row since 2003, the Chinese economy survived the global recession following the 2008 Lehman Brothers shock relatively unscathed with the help of massive stimulus spending worth 4 trillion yuan. It overtook the Japanese economy in size in 2010.
Growth slowed to 7.8 percent in 2012 and to 7.7 percent in 2013, and the government's target of 7.5 percent growth this year clearly shows that the period of growth at breakneck speed is over. This may be bad news for the world's economies, including Japan, that have come to greatly rely on China as a driving engine of global demand.