With the Olympics halfway through, officials have started reassuring the world that China will not suffer from a "post-Olympic recession" due to the scale and potential of its economy, the world's fourth largest.
"The Olympic Games won't be a watershed for China's economic growth," said Wang Yiming, vice-president of the Academy of Macroeconomic Research, a think-tank under the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top planning body.
"The fundamentals propelling the country's economic development over the past 30 years will remain even after the Games," he said.
The Chinese economy grew at a blistering 11.9 per cent in 2007. But the growth slowed down to 10.1 per cent in the second half of this year, raising concern that the economy could suffer after the August 8-24 Games.
The direct impact of the Games has been limited because of the size of country's economy, Wang said.
China won the right in 2001 to host the Olympics and its economy has grown at an average rate of 10.5 per cent since.
A number of factors, such as the nation's entry into the World Trade Organisation and the Olympic-related investment boom, have boosted the economy and made it the world's fastest growing.
China's gross domestic product (GDP) totalled 13.0619 trillion yuan ($1.9062 trillion) in the first half of 2008, a 10.4 per cent increase year on year. The countrys GDP was 24.6619 trillion yuan in 2007, ranking fourth in the world.
