China to hit economic growth target

China will weather its economic decline in the second quarter this year and the 2014 growth target of around 7.5 percent will be realized, a senior official forecasted on Friday. Chen Dongqi, deputy director of the institute of macroeconomic research under the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), said that China is still in a downturn but economic indicators have pointed to an upcoming rebound. This is particularly the case in the purchase management index and port handling capacity, which will contribute to a macro economic performance that surpasses forecasts, according to Chen. China's economic growth slowed to a six-quarter low of 7.4 percent in the first quarter of 2014. Chen, however, believes that urbanization will create great potential for domestic demand, and surging consumption of information, services and tourism will fuel economic expansion. Nationwide power consumption has grown by 4.6 percent year on year, but the speed of growth slowed from a year previously, triggering worries over the decelerating economy. Chen attributed the shrinking power consumption to structural changes in China's industries, with the service sector booming but traditional industry in a period of reform. Another NDRC official, Song Li, explained that the slower growth in power consumption last month was also partly caused by seasonal factors as electricity demand withered with the passing of winter.