"We do think the data are accurate, we think any errors in the data are compensated for by the fact a lot of the service economy is not included [in the numbers]," Gulliver told the annual Asia Financial Forum in Hong Kong.
HSBC, Europe's biggest bank, last June said it would expand in China's southern Pearl River Delta region as part of a strategic 'pivot' towards Asia.
Gulliver said he did not foresee a so-called 'hard landing' for China, the bearish scenario foretold by many economists in which the country's slowing growth results in widespread corporate defaults and economic collapse.
Jean Lemierre, Chairman of French lender BNP Paribas, echoed Gulliver's positive outlook on the Chinese economy.
"Chinese authorities have been clear for years saying they are going to change the model of the Chinese economy. It looks extremely sustainable in the medium term, so we are confident," Lemierre told the forum.
Earlier, Gulliver had said the price of oil would likely settle at between $25 and $40 in one year's time.
He gave the prediction when asked where the price would be at the same time next year.
"Major producers are currently delivering 2-2.5 million barrels per day more than demand, so the question is how long they can continue to overproduce for at that level," he said.
(Reporting By Lawrence White and Lisa Jucca; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman; Editing by Miral Fahmy)
