In a few weeks though, you will hear echoes of the conflict from Beidaihe, a beach-side summer resort 370km from the capital of Beijing, where top officials often hold brain-storming sessions.

Official news services have reported that a meeting is already going on there now, reviewing the country's economic situation since attempts for a "soft landing" were made last year.

In year-on-year terms, China's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) rose 9.4 percent in the first quarter, not much different from last year's 9.5 percent full-year growth. Beijing had set an annual GDP growth target of only 8 percent.

The forecast from economists is more or less the same for the second quarter, which indicates that the three major driving forces of the economy industry (manufacturing in particular), domestic consumer spending and exports won't see a general slowdown.

Mild growth
But the economy is no longer as heated as it was two years ago either. There are indications that momentum has softened, although not to the extent of a soft landing.

Growth had been mild in some key industries seen as economic drivers. Transportation, for instance, registered an 8.5 percent growth in the first four quarter, compared with 10.6 percent in the same period in 2004.

This is in fact a good sign, indicating that the "heavy" part of the economy has become "lighter" in proportion to the service industry and processing operations. As a result, price increases, in terms of the CPI (consumer price index), have also become less of a concern.

If this was a Goldilocks tale, analysts can describe the economy as neither too hot nor too cold … it's just about right.

Challenges ahead
However, the economy is not static. It will change. Economists are worried that many of promising indices will, if unattended, become less encouraging.

One group is arguing that industry and investment -- and behind them, government spending and the overall money supply allowed by the People's Bank of China, the Chinese central bank -- are still growing too fast.

After a dip in the first quarter of the year, industry's value-added output and society's general investment in fixed assets both increased for three consecutive months, they point out.

Another group of economists argue differently, saying that the economy is not running as wild as it was a couple of years ago; on contrary, it is on the verge of falling into deflation again.

They point out that in May, industry's profit growth went down an alarming 27.9 percent from the same period last year. Many companies may have difficulty running their production lines in full capacity because of the credit crunch caused by the limited money supply from the central bank and the State-owned banking system.

This second group of economists is asking if the transportation business is heading for not just a slowdown in growth, but a standstill, and if the power plant sector is going to witness further falls in demand.

At a crossroads
When the government's economic advisors are divided into two camps, it would be fair to surmise that the economy is once again at a crossroads.

It is too early to predict whether economic growth will be faster or slower in the second half. The only sure thing is that all policy options will be studied, and further studied.

The scenario will be muddier if, for example, a trade war breaks out on the international front. While all are hoping this does not happen, the increasing tension between China and the United States and EU over trade and exchange rate issues means that such a possibility cannot be completely ruled out.

If that happens, China will probably once again provide stronger incentives to its companies and consumers.