The transformation of Chinese economy in the last decade has been impressive and cred-it has to be given to the Chinese authorities for engineering it. However, the transition to a more sustainable, inclusive and environ-ment-friendly growth model is far from completed and many obstacles still lay ahead. While significant progress has been made in tackling corruption, cutting red tape and advancing interconnectivity, in other areas such as State Owned Enterprises re-form, reduction of pollution; and aligning the spending responsibilities with revenues for central and local government, substantial concrete measures have still to be taken. In all these areas, the Chinese authorities should "walk the talk".

Still, more may be needed. This brief argues that to complete the transition, additional measures should be introduced in a number of areas, namely (1) social safety nets, (2) the quality of investment, (3) wages; (4) ser-vices, and (5) the financial sector. The accel-eration of reforms in these five areas would allow China settling faster into a new nor-mal. In this way, China would also find itself much better equipped for the daunting chal-lenges that still lie ahead in order to avoid falling in the middle-income trap.