Central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan says China's economy is expected to grow 7 percent in the second half of this year, up 0.1 percent from the first six months. Sunday's statement comes in the face of analysts' expectations of slower growth due to higher borrowing costs and stricter property curbs.

The driving force behind the expansion is rising household consumption. And the governor says the services industry has contributed 55 percent to economic growth, a big jump this year. Zhou also warns the overall economic leverage ratio is still high, and is calling for speeding up of fiscal reforms to reduce local government debt and cut over-capacity to maintain financial stability.