China targets marginally lower growth this year

China will target an economic growth of seven percent this year, marginally lower than last year's goal of seven-and-a-half percent, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said in parliament on Thursday citing a government work report.

"Over the past year, the international and domestic environments faced by China in its development have been complicated and challenging. The road to global economic recovery has been rough, with many ups and downs, and the performance of the major economies has been divergent," the government study said, according to a People's Daily report.

"Downward pressure on China's economy has continued to mount, and we have faced an array of interwoven difficulties and challenges," it added.

In the 35 years between 1978 and 2013, annual growth of the Chinese economy averaged close to 10 percent.

However, the "good old days" had to end, with growth decelerating to 7.7 percent in 2012 and 2013, the report said.

The target growth rate of approximately seven percent "takes into consideration what is needed and what is possible".

"This target is both aligned with our goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and is appropriate in terms of the need to grow and upgrade our economy," the study report noted.

"If China's economy can grow at this rate for a relatively long time, we will secure a more solid material foundation for modernisation," it added.

The shrinking Chinese economy could still maintain a medium-to-high speed of growth and achieve a medium-to-high level of development as well, according to the work report.

The Chinese government has been trying to boost domestic demand amid falling exports to shore up economic growth, which has slowed down to a state that is called the "new normal".

The term "new normal" gained currency in China in May 2014, when President Xi Jinping, during an inspection tour of Central China's Henan province, described the need to adapt and remain cool-headed as growth slowed.