"Affected by the uncertainties of market prospects, lower earnings and rising costs, companies' willingness and capacity for investment has declined," he said.

In the first 10 months, the profits of industrial enterprises with annual sales of more than 5 million yuan ($802,000) increased by only 0.5 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

Zhang said overcapacity is a prominent problem in many industries. For example, the steel industry has achieved less than 75 percent of its production capacity, according to estimates by some industrial analysis.

As a major planner and coordinator of deepening reform, the NDRC will play a critical role in accelerating economic restructuring and ensuring more efficient, fair and sustainable economic development, said Zhang.

The government will make efforts to make breakthroughs in key areas such as pricing reform of energy resources and reform in the medical and health systems, he said.

Lu Zhengwei, chief economist at Industrial Bank, said China is still in a key period of strategic opportunities, but the new opportunities have shifted from "participating in globalization, expanding export and accelerating investment" to "expanding domestic demand, raising innovation ability and promoting economic restructuring".

Zhang Zhiwei, chief China economist at Nomura Securities in Hong Kong, said infrastructure investment is likely to pick up further in 2013, driven by accelerated urbanization.

China's economic growth will recover strongly in the first quarter of 2013, to 8.2 percent in the first half of 2013, and bring the whole year's growth to 7.7 percent, according to Nomura's forecast.

Contact the writer at lanlan@chinadaily.com.cn