SYDNEY, March 15, (People's Daily Online) – With the deepening of China-Australia bilateral relationship, an increasing number of Australians are yearning for more information about China. The annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee have become significant windows for Australians to understand China. A fair number of Australians experts who focus on China's “two sessions” have spoken highly of China's “new normal”.

Professor Bob Carr, Director of the Australia-China Relations Institute at the University of Technology Sydney, who is also former Australian foreign minister, told People's Daily Online that China's economy entering a stage of a “new normal” is very positive.

He said that as the economy matures, the growth rate will slow down. This has happened to all economies in the transition period. China's economy is maturing which means lower annual growth rate is reasonable.

Professor Carr pointed out that China's 13th Five-Year Plan highlights innovation and quality in the context of growth of service sector and rapid development of private consumption. The 13th Five-Year Plan confirms and consolidates economic restructuring, which signifies China is at the crossroad of becoming a moderately prosperous society.

It creates great opportunities for Australia to export foods and services to China. The annual number of Chinese tourists visiting Australia has exceeded 1 million. China has become the biggest source of foreign students in Australia. Professor Carr believed that tourism and education are great export goods, which are also driving forces for deepening the relationship between Australia and China.

“The lower targets are based on the realities of the slow global economic recovery, especially in the more advanced industrialised countries such as the US, European Union, Japan, etc., where China in the past had depended as its export markets,” said Dr Jingdong Yuan, associate professor of the University of Sydney.

“New areas that can generate both employment and sustain a decent growth rate are in the service sector, health providers including medical and old age care, environment such as green energy, among others,” he said.

In Dr Yuan's point of view, GDP growth, especially the kind of growth at higher cost and inefficient input-output ratio, is no longer the only goal of China’s economy. The growth should be guided and encouraged through monetary and fiscal policies and taxation, and balanced growth across sectors will generate sustained growth over time.