Economy Talk

"A managed slow slowdown" - what does that actually mean?

In the GONOM post on China's Q3 growth there's a quote from Zhiguo He at Stanford, via Al Jazeera: "A managed slow slowdown is the best Beijing can hope for."

I think I understand it roughly, but I'd like to hear how others read it. Is it pessimistic? Realistic? Something governments say on purpose?

In Japan we sometimes talk about our own long slow period, so I'm curious whether people see a comparison or if that's unfair. Happy to learn from anyone here!