China’s economy grew by 6.9% in 2015, compared with 7.3% a year earlier, marking its slowest growth in a quarter of a century. China’s growth, seen as a driver of the global economy, is a major concern for investors around the world. The news comes as the International Monetary Fund said it expected China’s economy to grow by 6.3% this year and 6% in 2017. Beijing had set an official growth target of “about 7%”. The growth rate is a far cry from China’s spectacular expansion in recent decades, but it broadly matches the government’s 7% target.

After years of torrid expansion, the world’s second-largest economy is now decelerating. The government is trying to shift the growth engine away from manufacturing and debt-fueled investment toward the services sector and consumer spending. The government has been broadcasting this for some time now as it attempts to transition from a state-led investment and manufacturing economy to one more dependent on services and consumption

China’s official growth numbers are expected to slow further in the coming years, a situation President Xi Jinping has dubbed “the new normal.”