Key upbeat on China's economic fate

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key is confident China and Asia will continue to be powerful drivers of economic growth.

NZ PM John Key is confident China and Asia will continue to be powerful drivers of economic growth. (AAP)

New Zealand is upbeat on China's prospects to drive economic growth across the region despite its economic rebalance.

China's economic growth rate has slowed to 6.9 per cent - the lowest in 25 years.

"China's going to get through this and be maybe even more important to Australia and New Zealand than we already think," NZ Prime Minister John Key told the Trans-Tasman Business Circle lunch in Sydney on Friday.