The authorities need to alter the current redistribution policies if they want to change the situation. The market environment should be improved, especially through the reduction of monopolies and prices.

Increasing the property tax, particularly real estate tax, could help control the expanding gap in property ownership, especially if the incomes of the low-income group are raised at the same time.

Li Shi, professor of economics at Beijing Normal University

Dynamic process for quality

The new normal marks the end of high-speed growth and the coming of quality growth for the country's economy. Don't misunderstand the word "normal"; the new normal is not static, it is a dynamic process, which features the quality of growth.

The new normal will influence all ongoing economic processes. Urbanization, especially, faces both challenges and opportunities - the past mode that featured low cost, the uncontrolled expansion of realty without residency, and insufficient public services is no longer acceptable. Urbanization must be more people-oriented, offer better living conditions for residents and take the environmental cost into consideration.

Besides, urbanization must proceed together with the modernization of agriculture. This in turn offers an unprecedented opportunity for the service sector, which is essential for maintaining quality growth of the economy as a whole.

As large numbers of farmers become urban residents it will boost the demand for services, promoting the implementation of policies favorable to the service sector.

Last year saw the service sector exceeding the industrial sector in the Chinese economy. That's a highlight for the national economy, as it means restructuring is bearing fruit and marks the beginning of a new era in which the service sector will reign.

Zhang Zhanbin, professor of economics at the Chinese Academy of Governance