The steady slowdown of the world’s second largest economy may disappoint those who are hoping it will be the driving force for the global economy, which is teetering on the edge of a double-dip recession.

Latest statistics show that the Chinese economy expanded 9.1 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of the year, the slowest pace since the third quarter of 2009.

However, remarkable income growth indicates that the Chinese economy is not losing steam. Instead, it is making needed progress in stimulating consumer-led growth.

Compared to the gloomy growth prospects of the European Union and the United States, that the Chinese economy is on track for such a “soft landing” should be reassuring.

Better, double-digit income growth figures suggest that the world’s largest developing economy has managed to tilt the distribution of income a little bit during the process of macroeconomic control.

Domestically, continuous and fast income growth is essential to the country’s efforts to boost domestic consumption into a key growth engine for the coming decades.

Globally, more and wealthier Chinese consumers will play a key role in transforming the world’s leading exporter into a vital source of demand, underpinning balanced global growth in the foreseeable future.

— China Daily, Beijing, Oct. 19