Second, China's entrepreneur sector is flourishing, and this strength has come just at the right time as China is poised at the very beginning of a new free enterprise system driven by innovative business models such as Wechat, Taobao and Didi Taxi. In only a few years, Wechat has changed the way that communication is accomplished, Taobao has changed the way people spend money, and Didi Taxi is changing traffic planning by offering people better services for getting around at a lower price. The private sector is booming and it too is still at a beginning stage.

Third, the manufacturing industry in China is already in decline, but, as an indicator of further economic growth, manufacturing is still providing its fair share in overall economic growth. China's service sector continued to grow above 9 percent last year while financial services grew at about 16 percent during the same time. The changing structure of trade and investment shows a reasonable shift from China's 1990s model of trade expansion to the current trend of "going global."

Fourth, China's economic growth model is not comparable to those of other Asian nations. Such comparisons may lead to a misunderstanding or exaggeration of the challenges surrounding China's economy. Yes, the Chinese economy is facing the most severe challenges since its open up policy was launched in the late 1970s. But, China's case is so unique and complicated that any one-dimensional view could be far from realistic. In fact, the political economy of China should be the worthy and fruitful subject of research for world scholars for many years to come.

Doubts about China's economy surged regularly in the past and they continue to persist today. However, the strong and firm consensus remains that China's economy is no longer a closed economy. It has been, for the past 30 plus years and is even more so today, an economy widely connected to the global economy. All major economies, developed or developing, will benefit from China's future sustainable development. Conversely, the world economy will suffer if China's economic restructuring goes astray.

Zhang Lijuan is a professor with Shandong University, China. She is also a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.h5a3.com/opinion/zhanglijuan.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.