China’s President, Xi Jinping, acknowledged the Central Government has had concerns about the nation’s economy and is committed to dealing with them. He added the outlook for the country remained bright.

“China will have very promising economic prospects,” Mr Xi said in written answers to interview questions from Reuters news agency, ahead of his state visit to Britain.

The Chinese President said China was “experiencing [the] growing pains of shifting from old drivers of growth to new ones”. But he pointed out that “the fundamentals of a steadily growing economy” had “remained unchanged”.

“It is normal that an economy may grow at different speeds in different periods,” Mr Xi said.

China’s Head of State noted the country’s economy grew by 7 percent in the first half of this year, which was “consistent with the [Central Government’s] growth target for the whole year”. He described it as “the fastest growth rate among major economies around the world”.

In the interview – carried in full by Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua –, President Xi said China was “closely linked to international markets” and could not “stay immune to the lacklustre performance of the global economy”.

“We do have concerns about the Chinese economy, and we are working hard to address them,” Mr Xi stated. He said the Chinese Government was also worried about “the sluggish world economy”, which was affecting all countries, “especially developing ones”.

Mr Xi said China’s Central Government would put “more emphasis on innovation and consumption-driven growth”. He also restated that the policy of utilising foreign investment remained “unchanged”.

The Chinese President also pledged in the interview to improve “the rule of law in the commercial field, protect intellectual property rights, and promote fair competition”.