(Photo/People's Daily Online)

Economic rankings for 2014 of 300 cities worldwide by the Brookings Institution and JPMorgan Chase showed that 27 of the 50 top-performing cities were Chinese. Economic performance in China remains outstanding. Shanghai has called off GDP growth goals and many areas in China have lowered their GDP targets to adapt to the new normal. China no longer seeks all out economic growth. So how should we evaluate China's economic development?

China's economy slows down but still ranks top in the world.

Global economic growth has been affected by the financial crisis. China's economic growth has dropped to a new normal. Even so, the 2015 World Economic Situation Analysis and Prediction released by the China Academy of Social Science said that although China's economy is experiencing fluctuations during its transformation, it still ranks top in the world. Furthermore, the report also showed that China and the U.S. will be major driving forces of the world economy in 2015. China will be the largest contributor to world economic growth.

China is experiencing disequilibrium in economic growth between the coastal areas and the interior, which lags behind the coast. The report states that it is to be expected that China will have this imbalance. Therefore, the interior holds more potential than the coastal areas. Companies have begun to move inland as the cost of labor and land rises on the coast, and the government has invested heavily on infrastructure in the interior.

Many places in China have lowered their GDP growth expectations. Shanghai is the first city to call off its GDP growth goals.

Rapid GDP growth leads to heavy costs. Experts say China should establish comprehensive evaluation standards.

Endliess rapid GDP growth is not in accordance with the laws of sound economics, says well-known economist Li Yining. It leads to over-consumption of resources, environmental damage, low efficiency, overcapacity, and missed opportunities for technology innovation and structural reform.

"We should find a clear comprehensive assessment system for economic growth that goes beyond GDP growth," says Pan Jiancheng, Vice Director of China Economic Monitoring and Analysis Center of National Bureau of Statistics.