The Chinese economy has entered a ‘new normal’ state and the growth rate of the economy is predicted to be around 7 percent in the coming 4 to 5 years. That’s according to Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei in a written statement after the 2-day G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting in Ankara, Turkey.

Lou also stressed in the statement that there are some positive changes in the Chinese economy, despite the lower growth rate. They include the proportion of consumption growth is now higher than that of investment; the proportion of the service sector in the GDP has surpassed industry; the proportion of the trade surplus in the GDP has been decreasing; 7 million new jobs were created in the first half of this year; and the quality of economic growth continues to rise.

Zhou Xiaochuan, the People’s Bank of China governor pointed out in the joint statement that there is no foundation that the RMB will keep devaluing over the long term. Zhou said the reasons are there is no substantial transformation in the real economy of China and a large surplus still remains in China’s foreign trade. Zhou also stated that since the August’s correction in the stock market, investors’ leverage in the stock market has been going down significantly and the real economy has not been impacted.