The Third Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) opens at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 5, 2010.

 

He also said the new target demonstrates the resolution of the Chinese government to shift its development focus from quantity to quality.

"Growth is not a priority. Even nine percent or ten percent of growth are within reach in the short-term, but that is no longer desirable since China has learnt from the financial crisis that the previous model is not sustainable," Zhuang said.

Peter Trebitsch also noticed China is giving more attention to quality of growth, instead of only focusing on expansion.

The key of economic development pattern transformation, however, lies in implementation of policies in lower level governments, he said.

As the first country emerging from the global economic downturn, China's gross domestic product (GDP) rose 8.7 percent in 2009 from a year earlier, above the 8-percent target the government set at the beginning of last year.

China's quarterly economic growth accelerated as the government's economic stimulus package started to pay off. The national economy rose 6.2 percent in the first quarter last year, 7.9 percent in the second quarter, 9.1 percent in the third and 10.7 percent in the fourth.

"Considering the circumstances that many countries are still suffering considerably, the target of 8 percent growth can leave room for Chinese people to improve their living standards," said Francois Jackman, counselor with Embassy of Barbados in China.