Consumer spending falls short

According to Liu, consumer spending in the United States has been as much as 70 percent of the economy. Although the weighting dropped in recent years, spending is still a main driver of the world's largest economy.

Liu suggested that a healthier Chinese economy should have at least half of its GDP generated by domestic consumption.

Zhu Lianqing, an economist at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, said that consumer spending is being constrained because prices are rising too quickly.

"If we exclude the price rise, there would have been even less of an increase in actual spending," said Zhu.

Real urban incomes rose just 6.8 percent in the first three quarters, far below the growth rate of GDP, a Bank of Communications Co report said.

There is no specific remedy for this situation, although experts have high expectations for the upcoming third plenary session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

"A lot can be done through the development of a market-oriented economy, as well as setting up a better social security net in terms of education, medical care and so forth, so people can spend money with less hesitation," said Liu.

But Yin Xiangshuo of Fudan University in Shanghai said that the nation's economic transformation requires more investment rather than more spending.

"Without any investment, spending alone can drive the economy nowhere," he said.