China's economy grew at a pace of 8.8 percent annually over its 10th Five-year Plan period, which is far beyond the 7 percent expectation.

The aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis led to a relatively slack time in the first two years of the period which witnessed 7.5 percent and 8.3 percent growth in 2001 and 2002 respectively.

The rising period of a new round of growth cycle set in from 2003 when the economy geared up to a speed of 9.5 percent. The momentum continued in 2004. Preliminary statistics of the National Bureau of Statistics predicts a 9 percent or above rise this year.

The economy is still in its upward movement now and the intrinsic driving force will be maintained. A stable operation is expectable in the period to follow.

However, the over capacity resulting from the investment frenzy and the energy consumption and trade frictions intensified by the rough-cut growth model pose challenges to the economy.

Therefore, it is crucial to have stable macro-control policy, adjust economic structure and transform the economic growth model to secure a steady outlook in the future.

By People's Daily Online