The OECD says China is dealing with the complexity of growing at a sustainable pace while trying to head off potential social problems.
Senior Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) official Mario Pezzini says China is putting in place industrial policy and other measures to increase productivity.
"Without that, their income will not be able to grow at the same rate as it is now," Mr Pezzini, director of the OECD's Development Centre, told AAP during a visit to Australia.
At the same time, Chinese people are finishing work without a pension or the ability to deal with ill health in old age.
As a consequence, Australia's number one trading partner has to deal with social cohesion issues.
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"If not, you see what happened in Tunisia," Mr Pezzini warned.
He said Tunisia's economy had been expanding at an annual rate of five per cent for 10 years and had no debts.
"Still, after 10 years of very intense growth there, there was the Arab Spring," he said.
Tunisia led a wave of uprisings across the Arab world that started in late 2010 and resulted in rulers being forced from power.
Mr Pezzini said that means strong economic growth in China is not sufficient on its own.
"There are a series of internal issues to be addressed and if they don't, then not tomorrow, but in the mid-term, they know that they will face serious problems," he said.
"So what this country is doing is dealing with very complex and difficult problems for sustainable growth."
The Chinese government is now targeting a growth rate of 7.5 per cent, rather than the 10 per cent plus rate that ruled for a number of years and provided a major lift for Australia's economy and mining sector.
The OECD is due to release its interim economic assessment on Tuesday, an analysis of its projections since its Economic Outlook in May, but concentrating on the Group of Seven countries and China.
Mr Pezzini has been in Perth in the past week addressing two conferences on the outlook for Africa, and is now in Canberra for meetings with commonwealth government departments and agencies, such as AusAID.
