PBOC confident of continued growth

Ma Jun, Chief Economist of the People’s Bank of China, stated on Saturday that despite indicators of slowing growth “the chance of a hard landing is very low,” Reuters reported. Ma acknowledged that the slowdown in real estate was putting downward pressure on the economy, but pointed to other engines of growth including the service sector, the internet, and healthcare. Premier Li Keqiang mimicked these sentiments in Germany on Friday, stating that China’s economy would continue to grow at “medium-to-high tempo”, forecasting growth of about 7.5% this year.