But that China's restructuring has caused its traditional growth engines of investment and exports to sputter alone should not generate too much pessimism. In fact, as China's per capita GDP reached $7,500 in 2014, Chinese consumers' eagerness to spend their hard-earned money for a better life has become increasingly evident despite income disparity remaining a major constraint.

If Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba can persuade consumers to spend more than 90 billion yuan on the world's biggest online shopping day on Nov 11, China has the potential to become the world's largest online retail market, although its overall share of consumption in the economy remains considerably low compared with developed economies having similar income levels.

A 20 percent increase in the number of outbound tourists in 2015 also points to a rising trend, which started in 1998 and has increased by nearly 13 times since. The impact of the rising number of tourists was evident at home, too, which saw more than 4 billion journeys in 2015 that generated tourism revenue of over 4 trillion yuan.

Compared with the $10-trillion Chinese economy, these bright spots of growth may not be big enough. Yet the very potential of these markets and the consumer enthusiasm should warrant more confidence in China's ongoing economic transformation to consumption-led growth.

These markets are far from perfect. The sales of poor quality or fake goods remain the Achilles' heel of China's online retail sector, preventing its sound development. Dissatisfactory services at tourist spots also are cause for concern.

But if Chinese people travel and shop more in the new year, there is no reason why policymakers should not do their best to improve regulation and services for consumers' greater satisfaction.

And if Chinese consumers are happy to loosen their purse strings, should not those who fear the Chinese economy might suffer a "hard landing" take a second look at the model they used to gauge its evolving economy?

The author is a senior writer with China Daily. zhuqiwen@chinadaily.com.cn