China is capable of maintaining steady economic growth in the year to come and beyond, buoyed by multiple driving forces, despite mounting downward pressure, economists have said.

“The gross domestic product growth in China in 2020 is likely to be stable,” said Xu Gao, chief economist of Bank of China International Ltd, at a panel held in New York on Thursday.

Chinese policymakers have “ample policy ammunition to maintain a stable growth,” Xu said, adding he expects the nation to embrace a friendlier policy environment in the coming year as it heads to boost economic growth.

The economist also pointed out that the biggest upward potential for the Chinese economy lies in the massive number of high-skilled and low-cost human resources.

Themed on “Forecast of China’s Economy for 2020,” the panel featured a group of leading Chinese and American economists, who shared their insights on macro-economic trends, reform possibilities, as well as expected challenges and opportunities in 2020 and beyond.

Panelists lauded China’s vigorous efforts in deepening further reform and opening up, while tackling challenges in recent years.

China has vowed to keep opening up its financial sector while controlling risks, with the country introducing 34 opening-up policies in the banking and insurance sectors in the past two years, including expanding the business scope of foreign-invested firms and easing market access.