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China's economy is continuing to expand rapidly thanks to robust export growth and rising consumption, despite slowed fixed asset investment.

"Declining major economic indicators show the overheated economy is coming under control," Li Xiaochao, a spokesman of the National Bureau of Statistics, said last month.

Latest statistics, released last month, indicate that the growth of fixed assets investment in urban areas was 4.5 percentage points lower the same period last year.

Breakneck investment growth in the first half of this year had given rise to fears that the Chinese economy might be in danger of overheating.

Chinese authorities therefore tightened monetary and credit supply amid a slew of other macroeconomic control measures.

Urban fixed-asset investment growth slowed to 26.8 per cent year-on-year in the first 10 months this year, down from 31.3 per cent for the first half of this year.

In monthly terms, investment growth has dropped sharply from above 30 per cent a few months ago to about 17 per cent in October.

China's macro control policies are gradually taking effect and macroeconomic risks have been reduced, noted Liu Mingkang, chairman of China Banking Regulatory Commission, at a recent financial forum.

"Clearly, investment is slowing," said Qu Hongbin, chief economist of HSBC (Asia), "Now the question is to what extent will it be slowed."

Though not fully convinced by the monthly fall of investment growth, Qu believed that other data like slowing growth of industrial added value and imports could support the view that October was a turning point in investment growth.

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