Stabilizing employment, ensuring livelihoods are govt priorities: Finance minister

China will continually deploy powerful economic policies to stabilize employment in support of economic recovery from novel coronavirus shocks, Finance Minister Liu Kun said at a virtual meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors.

The nation will continue to promote economic and social development, as well as control and prevent the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, with stronger counter-cyclical measures and more proactive fiscal actions, said Liu, reported by the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday.

"The government this year will give priority to stabilizing employment and ensuring people's livelihoods," he said, highlighting that the major indicators of China's economy have shown signs of recovery growth and the epidemic has been controlled domestically.

The impact of the spreading virus on the world's economy was greater than expected, and the damage to industry chains and employment may maintain in the long term, according to the statement.

G20 members should continually deploy their action plans and adjust policy measures in a timely manner to control the pandemic and promote economic recovery, Liu proposed at the meeting.

The finance minister suggested G20 countries take public health measures and contain the pandemic. Macroeconomic policy coordination should be strengthened to stabilize employment and gross demand, as well as to bring global supply chains back on track.

Liu also called for encouraging international organizations to increase new funds to narrow funding gaps in developing countries. 

At a video conference of the 7th China-France High Level Economic and Financial Dialogue, co-chaired by Chinese Vice-Premier Hu Chunhua and French Economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire on Tuesday, both sides agreed to support the critical role of the G20 as an important forum for international economic cooperation to improve global economic governance, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance. 

The two countries also reached a consensus to encourage the effective implementation of the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative for the world's poorest countries, calling for the G20 to further extend the period of debt suspension for countries concerned, including those in Africa, and encourage the multilateral financial institutions, including the World Bank, and private creditors, to participate in the plan, the statement said.