Premier urges preparedness amid rising economic pressure

BEIJING - China is confronted with rising downward pressure for economic growth and must be prepared for greater difficulties, Premier Li Keqiang said Tuesday.

The government should be confident about its economic prospects in the long run while also preparing to tackle greater challenges and difficulties, Li said at a symposium on the current economic situation.

The meeting was attended by experts and business leaders, including UBS economist Wang Tao, senior researcher with the Ministry of Finance Liu Shangxi, and leaders of white goods producer Haier and online portal Netease.

In the face of faltering global economic recovery and a complicated environment at home and abroad, China's economy saw a generally steady start this year, and macroeconomic policies took effect in countering downward pressures, a statement following the meeting cited analysts as saying.

"But market demand is still sluggish and continuous efforts must be made to ensure steady growth," the statement added.

There is still enormous potential, huge resilience and ample room for the country's development, Li said.

The National Bureau of Statistics is scheduled to release a series of economic figures for the first quarter on Wednesday, including gross domestic output, fixed-asset investment and industrial production.

The government should intensify efforts for targeted macroeconomic regulation on the basis of regulations that keep the economy in a proper range, Li said, adding that China should make efficient use of multiple policy tools to maintain growth, promote employment and raise efficiency.

The country should also strike a balance between steady growth and economic restructuring, Li said.

The government work report released in March pinpointed a raft of measures to shore up growth and restructure the economy, including the emphases on mass entrepreneurship, innovation, public products and services, Chinese equipment going global and information infrastructure.

Li said the country should step up implementation of these measures with view to increase investment in laggard areas, improve policy combinations to promote entrepreneurship and innovation, and provide new impetus for securing steady growth and upgrading economic structure.

"In seeking steady economic growth, China should make full use of reform and innovation as the driving forces," Li said.

The country must make intensified efforts to streamline administration and delegate power to lower levels, which will reduce administrative approvals and eliminate restraints on market vitality and development, he said.

Meanwhile, the government should push forward reforms in the fiscal, financial, pricing and financing sectors to realize accumulative effects and further unleash dividends of reforms.

"China will also open its gate wider to explore new room for development by actively participating in international cooperation and competition," Li said.

The country has set the economic growth target for this year at around 7 percent, down from 7.5 percent for the previous three consecutive years.