HONG KONG — As demand for exports slips and the real estate sector cools, China has been looking to consumers to help pick up the slack. But the country’s slowing growth will complicate those plans.

The economy increased by 7.3 percent in the last quarter of 2014 and 7.4 percent for the full year, the country’s National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday. While many countries would welcome such growth, the rate fell short of the government’s target of 7.5 percent for the year, a rarity for the highly managed economy.

China has rarely experienced a sustained slowdown in its economy, which has expanded seemingly unabated for decades. The last time yearly growth dipped below 7.5 percent was in 1990, after the Tiananmen massacre prompted international sanctions.

China’s leaders have said they are comfortable with steadier, albeit slower, growth, calling this period a “new normal.” As the economy downshifts, Beijing is trying to wean its dependence on credit-fueled investment and government spending and move instead to a consumer-driven growth model.