Over the past few decades, China has transformed itself into an economic powerhouse, where double-digit growth has been the norm. However, the once red hot engine of growth is now starting to cool down. According to official figures, the Chinese GDP grew by 6 percent in the last quarter. Experts said this is due in part to the ongoing trade war with the United States as well as increasing domestic challenges. So, is it time to sound the alarm, or is it just business as usual for the world's second-largest economy?

John Gong, a professor at the University of International Business and Economics, said that Chinese exports and investment are slowing down. Therefore, he thinks the trade war has affected investor confidence as well as production. 

"The economy is running out of steam right now, and we would expect the World Bank and IMF have all come out revising growth figures for the entire world," Gong said. 

He said even though China's GDP grew by 6 percent, that's still a considerable number compared to most other countries in the world. 

Yan Liang, an associate professor of economics at Willamette University, said double-digit growth rates are a thing of the past.

 "As China has graduated from the poor country rank and joined the middle–income country group. We see structural transformation of the Chinese economy departing from the credit-driven investment to service-based and consumption-driven growth," Liang said.

Quoting another professor in the field, Liang said, "China is growing slower but safer."

"I think it is a deliberate choice that we slow down the growth rate, but it's not to go back to old credit-driven and investment-driven growth," she said, adding that China is not just pursuing the quantity of growth but the quality, which continues to lead technological innovations and sustain the environment, create jobs that will make growth more sustainable.

China's continued growth depends on technological development as well as continued reform and liberalization. "I am pretty optimistic about China's growth and the ability of the Chinese government to use monetary expansion or fiscal stillness to promote economy," she said.

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