China needs to transform its economy by implementing supply-side and structural reforms, said on Monday an official think tank.

In a column in the state-run newspaper People’s Daily, Wang Yiming, Vice President of the Development Research Center of the State Council, said the world’s second largest economy had experienced significant changes after the global financial crisis in 2008. He added that the current “new normal” era needed a round of economic transformation.

“If the old ways continue to be used to spur growth, not only will the investment rates continue to drop and the debt keep rising, but the financial risks will also increase,” he warned.

He suggested the authorities should reduce unnecessary and low-end productivity, and increase high-end productivity, as well as implement structural reform in government, state-owned enterprises and the financial system.