China can deal with global economic challenges: state planner

[BEIJING] China will be affected by the unstable global economic conditions in 2016 but will have the ability to cope with the challenges, the country's state planner said on Wednesday.

Xu Shaoshi, head of the National Development and Reform Commission, was speaking to reporters at a briefing. His comments came after recent data showed China's economy was off to a weak start this year.

The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for manufacturing stood at 49.4 in January, the lowest reading since August 2012.

REUTERS