Former Malaysian PM optimistic on China's economic outlook

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said Thursday that he is not worried by the recent slowdown of China's economic growth and remains confident on China's economic outlook.

Speaking at his meeting with the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Mahathir said the world is paying great attention to China's economic outlook. Meanwhile he doesn't worry on the recent slowdown of China's economic growth, and remains confident on China's economic outlook.

China's economy eased to a 7.5-percent growth in the second quarter from 7.7 percent in the first three months, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

China's economy has evolved significantly and a 7.5 percent growth remains outstanding compared to other major economies in the world, Mahathir said.

China's foresighted and independent macro-economic policies will help its economy to overcome external disturbance and maintain competitiveness, he added.

The Malaysia's longest serving prime minister said infrastructure construction will continue to exert a positive influence on China's economy in the long term.

He said Malaysia and ASEAN countries welcome China's efforts in improving interconnection between China and ASEAN, which contributes to a win-win situation by boosting not only China's development in various economic fields but also economic growth in neighbouring countries.