Aerial photo taken on Oct. 15, 2019 shows a view of the Lujiazui area in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

"China is still China, the economy is still the economy, the consumers are still consuming."

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Despite the impact of the novel coronavirus, China's economy holds promising prospects of long-term growth, former U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce Frank Lavin has said.

"Whatever the initial logic was that might have propelled you to go to the China market six months ago still holds today," said Lavin, also CEO of digital solutions company Export Now, in an interview with U.S. media CNBC on Thursday.

Customers visit the duty-free shop in Haikou, south China's Hainan province, Feb. 20, 2020. (Photo by Pu Xiaoxu/Xinhua)

"China is still China, the economy is still the economy, the consumers are still consuming," Lavin said, adding that people who have been eyeing the Chinese market are "almost by definition taking a long-term view."

As China posted 6.1-percent economic growth in 2019, Lavin said this year would "still be a very nice year for the Chinese GDP."

He also observed that Chinese authorities are "more or less getting their arms around" the spread of the epidemic. ■