Soft internal and international demand to blame, says economist

Bank of Communications (BOCOM), China's leading commercial bank, released its projections on Monday for China's economy in the second half of 2013, predicting gross domestic product growth of around 7.5 percent by the end of the year.

Lian Ping, chief economist at BOCOM, said China's economy still faces downward pressure because of sluggish domestic and foreign demand and economic structural imbalance.