(Beijng Review) At a recent high-level economic symposium, the question of whether or not countries should set GDP growth targets became a hot topic of debate.

Some economists pointed out that all of the world's developed countries and the majority of middle-income countries have abandoned GDP growth rates as a target of macroeconomic control. Should China follow suit？

The practice of using GDP as a key measure of economic development is not flawless, and some experts therefore suggest it be abandoned. However, others believe the GDP index still has a role to play in China's economy, that doing away with it would impact wide-ranging aspects of Chinese society, and that identifying a substitute index is problematic.