Strategy of growth is accompanied by notes of cautions, Andrew Moody, Hu Haiyan and Yan Dongjie report.

A high-speed train that runs between the Nanjing and Anqing. China had built 19,000 km of high-speed rail by the end of last year. LI BO / FOR CHINA DAILY

Chinese Vice-President Li Yuanchao responded to recent negative financial news headlines by insisting " blind optimism" was not needed to believe the Chinese economy had a potentially strong future.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan 22, he acknowledged that China faces many challenges as it undergoes a "crucial shift" in its development model but said the government had a clear strategy for the future.

"China's economy remains the main driving motor of the global economy. As China enters a new normal, it will grow more steadily and in a more diversified way," he said.

"That the economy will further prosper is not blind optimism but a prediction based on China's current situation and strengths."

The vice-president was speaking before the recent rally in the Chinese stock market, whose performance has been a major concern for international investors, and before the publication of the government's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) in March.

He pointed out that despite the economy slowing to 6.9 percent in 2015, it had still added $500 billion of extra economic capacity to what is now a $10 trillion economy — a bigger contribution than any other country and equivalent to the size of the South African economy.

Despite the slowdown, more than 13 million jobs were being created in urban centers, outperforming the government's own target.

The unemployment rate in 31 major cities across the country was just 5.1 percent, one of the lowest rates since the 2008 financial crisis.

Li said it was unreasonable for commentators to expect China to maintain the high growth rates of the last decade in the current global economic environment.

"The global economy is still suffering from insufficient aggregate demand and is still going through a process of deep adjustment."

He maintained China was still on course to reach its target of becoming a "moderately well-off society" by 2020, which would mean breaking out of the so-called "middle income trap", which has been a pitfall for many Latin American countries.

"China has huge potential and also the perseverance, confidence and capability to maintain a steady development speed."

Stephen Roach, former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia and senior lecturer at the Yale School of Management, insisted China has the financial firepower to avert any financial crisis.

"China's massive reservoir of foreign exchange reserves provides it with an important buffer against a classic currency and liquidity crisis," he argued.

He said the commitment to market-based reforms should help steer it in the right direction.

"They are a far cry from the crisis that many believe is now at hand."

Contact the writers through andrewmoody@chinadaily.com.cn.