BEIJING, April 16-- Fussing over China's economic slowdown is nothing but a waste of time, as a slowing pace does not necessarily mean unhealthiness and a hard-landing.

Official data show that China's economy grew 7.4 percent year on year in the first quarter. Doomsayers were quick to point out that the rate was lower than the 7.7 percent of the previous three months and peddle gloom over China's economic future.

But their claims are ill-grounded and misleading. For starters, the rate exceeds the 7.3-percent market estimation and remains in the top echelon across the world.

Actually, the slowdown is a result of the voluntary adjustment the Chinese government has been pushing to shift the economy toward a more sustainable mode.

Beijing is trying to channel the impetus for economic growth toward domestic consumption, the role of which is growing bigger. The household final consumption expenditure accounted for 64.9 percent of GDP in the first quarter.

Official figures also show that in the first quarter traditional industries such as steel and cement were outpaced by high-tech industries, which are more promising and eco-friendly.

Meanwhile, with business activity picking up, China's endogenous power of economic growth has gradually recovered. Employment is improving, and foreign trade is making a turn for the better as the recovery of European and U.S. economies takes root.

It is natural for an economy to slow down during a period of structural adjustment and optimization. The result of a more balanced growth makes the slowdown worthwhile.

After more than three decades of fast economic growth, the Chinese government and public have both realized that pursuing growth at all costs is not good at all.

What China needs is not an economy expanding at a blistering pace but one that grows in a sustainable and healthy manner at a reasonable and steady speed.