2014 scored higher quality growth: NBS

An economic hard landing unlikely: expert

China enjoyed a higher-quality economic growth in 2014 despite slowing down to 7.4 percent, the country's statistics authority said Thursday, with analysts saying a hard landing in China's economy is unlikely in the coming years.

Despite the slowdown, the overall outlook for China's economy is good and the quality of economy growth has improved in 2014, Xie Hongguang, the deputy head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said in a statement posted on NBS' website after the authority provided data on China's economic activities in 2014.

The official data showed that China's GDP stood at 63.6 trillion yuan ($10.2 trillion) in 2014 and growth in several high-end industries led the way.

Value-added output in China's high-tech and equipment manufacturing industries rose 12.3 percent and 10.5 percent, respectively, in 2014 from the previous year, 4 and 2.2 percent age points higher than the average levels, the data showed.

According to NBS' data, China's overall labor productivity, which measures economic efficiency, rose 7.0 percent in 2014 from the previous year.

Official data showed that China's GDP expanded by 7.4 percent year-on-year in 2014, down from 7.7 percent in 2013, which was the slowest since 1991, increasing concern over the health of the economy.

"The 7.4 percent growth is still within a reasonable range, as it can greatly help society, such as by boosting employment and improving people's living standards," Zhang Liqun, a researcher with the Development Research Center of the State Council, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Xie's words came several days before the central government was scheduled to unveil its GDP growth target for 2015 in the annual legislative and advisory sessions, which is expected to be held in March.

Analysts said the 2015 target will likely be lowered to above 7 percent but below last year's 7.5 percent target.

A hard landing in China's economy is unlikely in the coming years and high-quality growth will continue, even though the growth rate is expected to be 0.3-0.5 percentage points lower than in 2014, Wang Jun, an economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, a Beijing-based think tank, told the Global Times Thursday.

The latest economic indicators released by HSBC Wednesday showed China's manufacturing sector bounced back in February, sparking optimism for sustained economic growth this year.

HSBC said Wednesday that China's flash Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) edged up slightly to a four-month high of 50.1 in February, ending two consecutive months of contraction.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion in manufacturing, while a reading below 50 points shows a contraction.

The previous data about China's economic operations in January showed the economy still faces downturn pressure but the recently launched policies are expected to support an economic rebound in the coming months, Wang said.

According to a statement released after a State Council meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday, China will increase tax breaks for small and micro-sized firms and innovative enterprises in an effort to boost employment and encourage innovation.

The central government is also expected to announced more preferential policies for business in the coming months by further easing its fiscal and monetary policies, Wang said.

In anticipation of milder tweaks to the monetary policy, there could be more cuts in the reserve requirement ratio as well as in interest rates this year to spur economic growth, Zhou Hao, an economist at the ANZ Banking Group, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Following potential monetary policy easing and deepened economic reform, China's economic growth in 2015 and in the long term could be sustained, and the annual economic growth target from 2016-2020 is expected to be set at 6.8 percent, Wang said.

Wang added that even a slower economic growth rate of 6.6 percent from 2016 to 2020 would allow the country to double its 2010 GDP and per capita incomes for both urban and rural residents by 2020, a goal announced by former top leader Hu Jintao at the opening of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in November 2012.