Economists have high hopes China can keep GDP growth above 7 percent over the next five years, as leading officials prepare to discuss 2016-2020 development at a key political meeting. Economic growth is high on the agenda of October’s plenary session of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, which will cover the 13th Five-year Plan (2016-2020). These five years are critical if Chinese leaders are to realize their goals of doubling 2010 GDP and per capita income and completing the building of a moderately prosperous society by 2020. “China’s potential growth can exceed 7 percent,” said Tsinghua University economist Hu Angang, using the technical term for the maximum pace an economy can sustain over the medium to long term without stoking inflation. “China set a growth target of 7 percent for the 2011-2015 period, but the de facto annual growth was 7.8 percent […]