China's growth target achievable, favorable for global economy: UAE official

DUBAI - The Chinese government is capable of achieving its growth target of around 6.5 percent for 2017, which will be favorable for the global economy, an official of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) said Monday.

"China has worked hard to keep economic growth high and it has implemented important reform policies," Mohammed Alabbar, an economic advisor to the UAE government, told Xinhua.

Reforms were necessary because "Asia as a whole went through challenging times," Alabbar, who is also chairman of Emaar Properties, the largest real estate developer in the Gulf Arab country, said at an annual investors' forum of Egyptian investment bank EFG Hermes.

China has set its GDP growth target at around 6.5 percent for 2017, compared with a target range of 6.5-7 percent last year, a government work report said Sunday.

"(China will) pursue better results in actual economic work," according to the report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang at the opening meeting of the annual session of China's top legislature, the National People's Congress. This closely-watched target is a 25-year low, down from last year's actual growth of 6.7 percent.

"I believe China faces good years to come," said Alabbar, a leading voice of Corporate Dubai and developer of the world's tallest tower Burj Khalifa, adding that investors from China and elsewhere "enjoy investing in the Middle East."

"We have still so much opportunity and improvement needs in relation to economic efficiency," he said.

On the global economy, he said 2016 was really a tough year for everyone, but it will be better in 2017 and 2018.

"Market volatility and geopolitical uncertainties which occurred so frequently last year mean we all have to do business on our toes and we have to be permanently alert for changing market conditions," Alabbar said.