The rebalancing of China's economy will not be without its hiccups, but debate is rampant about whether the easing of growth will result in a soft-landing or a fall off the cliff face.

Investors are obviously nervous, with each morsel of data creating shockwaves across global markets.

Should China manage the transition successfully, the benefits for its citizens and the rest of the world will be ample. The repercussions, should it fail, are dire.

''On the monetary side, we believe the PBoC needs to send a stronger signal of policy easing. We believe a reserve requirement ratio cut of 50 basis points in the second quarter and another 50 basis point cut in the third quarter are likely. The probability of an interest rate cut is rising as well, although it is not yet part of our base case,'' Nomura research analyst Zhiwei Zhang said.

''Credit supply will also likely rise, as measured by bank loans and total social financing.''