The days of double digit growth are over and modest growth in the seven percent range will be China's lot in the immediate future.

And, by the way, there won't be any massive economic stimulus similar to that in 2008 which jumpstarted the economy.

Chinese President Xi Jinping said the Chinese must get used to slower economic growth in the face of a vastly changed internal and external economic environment.

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As a result, the government is moving away from an economic model founded on high export growth and government stimulus spending and into a new one where self-sustaining growth will be driven by consumer spending.

"We must boost our confidence, adapt to the new normal condition based on the characteristics of China's economic growth in the current phase and stay cool-minded," Xi said.

Xi said the government will now concentrate on longer-term reforms aimed at stabilizing growth. He also said there is a need for China to prevent risks and to "take timely countermeasures to reduce potential negative effects."

His warning comes amid growing signs that China's economy, which might now be the world's largest, is definitely weakening. The 7.4 percent growth in China's gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of this year compares to the 7.7 percent growth in the first quarter of 2013. It is also the weakest quarterly performance since 1999.

While massive government stimulus spending is no longer in the cards, China has not ruled out smaller stimulus to iron out temporary economic bumps. The government launched a mini-stimulus last March to counter unexpectedly weak exports. It also did so last year to face down other emergencies.

The official government trade growth target for this year is 7.5 percent. That might now be overly optimistic given that total exports and imports have fallen by 0.5 percent so far this year.

Economic experts said the bleaker economic realities have forced the ruling Communist Party to accept economic growth below its 7.5 percent target this year in exchange for maintaining a high rate of new job creation to stave off civil unrest and political tensions.