Quotable

"We believe the markets and the Chinese government should be alarmed by the rapidly rising leverage, but we do not believe China is on the brink of a debt crisis, especially if the new leaders can take decisive measures to arrest its rising leverage."

Lu Ting, economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong, commenting in a recent research report that policymakers should be aware of China's "very low" debt to GDP ratio, at 21 percent.

"The Chinese photovoltaic entrepreneurs were able to jump into the new market. They had gained enough technical capability and captured the sudden new demand, whereas big German and Japanese companies grew very slowly."

Steven White, associate professor in the Department of Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Strategy at Beijing's Tsinghua University, saying that the strength and weakness of Chinese companies can be illustrated no better than with the rise and fall of the country's photovoltaic industry.

"The Chinese financial structure is a far cry from that of developed countries. It is not even on par with other developing economies."

Qi Bin, director-general of the Research Center, the think tank of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, commenting on the state of the Chinese economy during a discussion held by Bank of China.

(China Daily Africa Weekly 01/03/2014 page18)