Chinese officials worried as economy enters 'tricky' phase: economist

"The Chinese economy has entered into a very tricky and difficult period ... Officials are worried," David Daokui Li, a professor at Tsinghua University, said at an annual global central banking conference here.

"Right now we are stuck with today's economy" with more reforms needed to fuel economic growth more through domestic consumption and the services sector, Li said.

China's recent stock market sell-off reflected that transition, reflecting some loss of confidence about growth but also a "healthy price adjustment" to the share of legacy industries like iron and steel production, he added.

(Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Paul Simao)