China has 'ample capacity' to avoid hard landing

WASHINGTON -- China has sufficient policy maneuver to respond to economic slowdown and the consistency of policies measures is noticeable in its reforms, a senior US Treasury official said on Wednesday.

"China has ample capacity to avoid a hard landing," said Lael Brainard, the Treasury's under secretary for international affairs, said at a Washington-based think tank.

"Chinese authorities have been very pragmatic," she said, adding that it is "very important" for Chinese policymakers to support domestic consumers and continues the rebalancing.

Latest official data showed that the Chinese economy expanded 7.6 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, which was below 8 percent for the first time in three years. To stabilize economic growth, China has taken a number of steps, including two interest rate cuts in a month.

Brainard said there are variety of indicators to measure a country's economic performance other than the rate for GDP growth.

"We've seen some indications they are going to be much more focused on lifting domestic consumers," a key part of the rebalancing efforts to make the growth model more sustainable, she noted.

Brainard said China has set consistent and explicit goals in its 12th Five-Year Plan, including goals for household incomes.

She also noted that China's current account surplus has fallen significantly, reflecting appreciation of RMB against the dollar in inflation-adjusted terms.