Financial commentator Ma Guangyuan gives a lecture at the business school of Sichuan University on May 9.

"China's economy relies too much on investment and export," he said.

China's investment accounts for more than 45 percent of its GDP in recent years, almost twice the world's average. In 2010, the share climbed to 69.3 percent, according to Ma.

The high investment hasn't led to high return, however. China's investment has increased 25 percent annually in the past five years, but GDP has only increased by about 10 percent.

Low consumption is also a big problem. The share of consumption as a part of China's GDP has been falling sharply in recent years, according to materials Ma provided.

Consumption made up over 50 percent of China's GDP in the 1980s and 46 percent in the 1990s. The share fell to 33.8 percent in 2010, much lower than the world's average (61 percent).

"A nation is irresponsible to the world's economy if it doesn't consume," Ma quoted American experts.

Some American experts say the global economic crisis was caused by China because Chinese people didn't consume. Instead, they bought large amounts of US treasuries, which encouraged Americans to consume and led to the crisis, he said.

Another obstacle for China's economic development is lack of technological innovation, said Ma.

When it became the second largest economy in 1968, Japan was neck and neck with the United States in scientific and technological strength, as well as industrial competitiveness.

But China is not, although having become the second largest economy, he said.

China's industries are large in scale but weak in core competence. As many as 73 enterprises in the Chinese mainland entered the Fortune 500 list in 2012, but none of them are internationally renowned or competitive.

China's service sector is also in trouble, Ma said. The service sector accounted for only 43.8 percent in 2012, ranking the last among the world's major economies.