(Yicai Global) Oct. 10 -- Economic development has become the new normal for China over the past five years, Ning Jizhe, head of the country's National Bureau of Statistics and deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, its top price setter and economic planner, said today.

Ning made the remarks at a State Council Information Office press briefing when questioned by a reporter from state-owned broadcaster CCTV.

China's economy has shifted from breakneck growth to a more balanced speed, with continually optimized economic structure and the emergence of new industries, businesses and business models, he added.

An important aspect of this new normal is that China has maintained medium- to high-level growth of about 7 percent over the past four years, with an economy worth USD11.2 trillion, Ning said, adding that this made the country the fastest-growing among the world's major economies.

China has also optimized its economic structure in recent years, with consumption contributing to over 50 percent of growth and the added value of the service sector making up more than half of the country's gross domestic product, compared with less than half in the past, he added. The service sector's contribution to GDP is even higher in coastal metropolises, such as Beijing and Shanghai.

Investment in industrial and technological transformation has been growing faster than other sectors in recent years. High-tech, strategic, emerging and equipment manufacturing industries have been growing at nearly, and even over, 10 percent every year for the past half decade, and even faster in the past two years, Ning continued.

Mass entrepreneurship and innovation have driven the emergence of new products and services, he added, while the sharing economy, online retail and other new businesses all play an important role in economic vitality.

The added value of new industries, businesses and business models made up 14.8 percent of China's GDP in 2015, and even more in coastal areas, Ning said, citing preliminary estimates from the statistics bureau. Data for last year is not available yet, but is expected to be even better than a year ago, he added.