Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has moved to instil US business leaders with a sense of optimism over China's economic rebalance, while at the same time acknowledging the change of gear may not be smooth.
China's economic growth rate has slowed to 6.9 per cent - the lowest in 25 years.
Speaking at a US Chamber of Commerce breakfast in Washington DC ahead of his bilateral meeting with President Barack Obama, Mr Turnbull reassured business leaders that volatility brought opportunity.
"Rebalancing has to happen but it is overwhelming a good thing," he told the breakfast.
This is because the Chinese middle-class represented huge export opportunities for Australia and the US.
China's investment boom was always going to be unsustainable, the PM said.
"Yes you are seeing an adjustment and these adjustments are never as smooth we would like," he told reporters.
"It's not like a racing car driver changing gears, there's going to be some (clunkiness)."
Mr Turnbull held up Tasmania as an example of a struggling small state which was now sharing in a windfall from Chinese consumer demand.
