Stabilizing economic growth remains China's top priority

Chinese authorities on Tuesday reaffirmed that they will prioritize stable economic growth and adhere to a proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy to weather current economic hardships.

The ongoing pace of economic growth is within expectations, but the external environment remains grim and poses difficulties and challenges to growth, according to a newsletter released after a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee that was presided over by President Hu Jintao.

"We should observe the problems and risks, strengthen risk awareness and make good preparations," read the newsletter.

"We should remain firmly confident in our efforts to promote steady and relatively fast economic growth," it said.

Dwindling orders from Europe and other trade partners have sapped China's exports and, combined with a cooling property sector, slowed the country's economic growth rate to 7.6 percent in the second quarter, the lowest level since the first quarter of 2009.

The government has vowed to expand domestic demand, develop the real economy, accelerate reforms and improve people's living standards over the rest of the year.

The possibility of a housing price rebound has been looming in some cities. The committee said it will implement cooling policies to curb speculative demand and increase supplies of smaller apartments and subsidized housing.

The committee also pledged to cut taxes, maintain moderate credit growth and optimize investment structures to enhance efficiency.

The government will beef up support for key projects and implement policies that allow private capital to play a bigger role, the committee said, adding that foreign trade policies will stay consistent.

On July 26, Hu called for more efforts to ensure agriculture production and stabilize jobs, adding that authorities must remain alert against economic risks and closely watch changes in the global economy.

"Favorable policies should be implemented in order to boost crop output, farmers' incomes and the agricultural modernization drive," Hu said.

Hu made the remarks as part of his opinion on the country's economic work for the latter half of 2012 delivered at a symposium with non-communist personnel, according to a statement released Tuesday.

While expressing gratitude towards non-communist individuals and groups for offering references for the Party and the government's decision-making, Hu called on them to follow the CPC Central Committee's judgments and policies and deepen research in order to provide more suggestions.

During the seminar, Premier Wen Jiabao said the country's economic and social development has been "in a good situation in general," and the economy, despite slowing growth, has remained within expectations.

However, Wen said that "concerning the domestic economy, the most obvious problem is that economic downward pressure is still relatively big."

Wen said difficulties and risks should not be underestimated, as the world economy is expected to continue its slow growth for a very long time, posing hardships for expanding external demand.

"Various monetary policies should be adopted to ensure the steady and moderate increase of currency loans," said Wen.

Wen urged the deepening of reforms in key fields and the strengthening of policies to boost the non-public sector.

In addition, Wen promised to "resolutely" carry out policies to adjust and control the real estate market in order to prevent housing prices from rebounding.