BEIJING, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese economy has shown positive signs of stabilizing but it's hard to judge what it will be next year, governor of China's central bank said Thursday.

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), made the remarks on a panel discussion with delegates from the financial sector to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), which opened here Thursday morning.

China's economic momentum will depend on not only domestic conditions, but also changes brought by the global financial crisis, said Zhou, who is also a CPC delegate to the national congress.

"It has become increasingly clear that the Chinese economy is now moving towards a better direction," he said.

Due to the impact of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, China's economy began slowing this year. The Chinese economy expanded only 7.4 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2012, marking a downturn for seven straight quarters, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

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