The latest World Bank report about the growth prospects of China's economy said that growth in gross domestic product in China will be 7.4 percent in 2014 and 7.2 percent in 2013. The quarterly update, while documenting a decreasing trend compared to the results of the recent past, confirms, however, that the growth forecasts for the future are still positive. The slowdown in 2014 is due to the contraction of consumption and, more markedly, of investment and external demand, the inevitable consequences of the global economic crisis, which has generally resulted in a downward revision of growth estimates of the Asian economies. The document, which regularly assesses the Chinese economy, identifies as the key to resolve the short-term problems in the policy measures to support growth, in particular policy on tax incentives for consumption. Interventions in this direction should be made according to a logic-sighted, in pursuit of long-term objectives.

It could be decisive in this respect the role played by the banking system, that has always been the main source of financing of the economy of the Dragon: according to many economists, policies that contain credit growth could slow the expansion of the economy and infrastructure, while increasing the risks in real estate and if the country's economy will not change gear, in danger of reaching unsustainable levels of debt. The long-term prospects will depend, it is said, from the management of some "structural challenges" including, in particular, measures of intervention in support of per-capita income and aimed at improving productivity. To increase the opportunities for competition and "redefine the source of competitive advantage" of China, once represented mainly by cheap labor, finally the country will have to focus on innovation.

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