Short- and long-term challenges for China

At the same time, Hawksworth said China is facing some short- and long-term challenges in the process of shifting its economic growth pattern.

As for the short-term challenges, he said that China has obviously put a lot of emphasis on government spending and investment to stimulate the economy during the global financial crisis.

"Although that has been quite successful, it may also have led to some dangers of an overheating with increases in property prices and asset prices," he warned.

He said that is a short-term problem which really requires a gradual tightening of monetary policy. Some restrictions on bank lending are also needed to avoid this asset price bubble getting out of control.

In his view, the long-term challenge is about moving towards an economy that is more driven by household spending.

"This is partly about encouraging households to feel more confident about the future, about providing better healthcare from the state or better pensions to the households," he said.