China has been attempting to shift from an export-led economy to a consumer and services-led one.
Beijing set an official growth target of “about 7%” for the overall year but Premier Li Keqiang said a lower growth rate was also acceptable, as long as enough new jobs were created.
“In order to restructure, the economy will face some downward pressure,” Sheng Laiyun, a spokesman for the Chinese statistics agency, told reporters.
But despite a slowdown in the industrial sector, Mr Sheng said the services sector is expected to grow rapidly.
--BBC on Oct 19