The economy “is moving in the desired direction of stronger domestic demand and innovation”, Premier Li Keqiang said in an article “China’s economic blueprint”, which was published by the Economist on Nov 2.

“One by-product is a fall in the relevance of indicators such as power consumption, rail-cargo volume and new bank credit in gauging economic performance. Yet this transition from ‘bigger is better’ to ‘less is more’ is a good thing. I would otherwise be worried whether the reforms were working as intended,” he said.

The Premier emphasized on a number of occasions that China is in a phase of replacing the old drivers of its economy for new ones, a difficult transition that can lead to economic fluctuations.

“We are pushing through market reforms, to speed the transition to a sustainable growth model markedly more driven by innovation and consumption. Employment, income levels and the environment are all high on our list of priorities,” the Premier said.

Goldman Sachs said in its latest report that even though China’s economy is slowing, industries such as technology, new energy, education, media and entertainment have outperformed traditional drivers of the economy, yicai.com reported on Dec 7.

Shen Jianguang, chief economist at Mizuho Securities Asia said in an article published in ftchinese.com on Oct 21 that there was no need to be over-pessimistic about China’s economy, as the figures issued by the authorities didn’t reflect the benefit of the economic transition.

“Considering the currently stable employment situation and consumption, I believe China’s economy is more resilient than expected,” he said.