Targeted control measures to boost steady growth

China's targeted control measures, to tackle economic issues in a "precise, prompt and appropriate" manner, are a new way to counter challenges and boost steady growth amid uncertainties about the Chinese economy.

China will attach greater importance to targeted control measures to keep economic growth in a proper range, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told the nation's top academicians and scientists Tuesday.

The Chinese economy faces heavy downward pressure and imbalanced regional development. It grew 7.4 percent year on year in the first quarter, marking the weakest pace in 18 months. The country aims for an annual growth rate of around 7.5 percent for 2014.

Former US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the Chinese government fully understands the universality and urgency of the issues it faces, closely related to the current characteristics of the Chinese economy.

Currently, the Chinese economy faces challenges such as the combination of old and new problems, pressures from home and abroad, and obstruction of the reform.

China used to seek stimulus plans once its economy was stuck in impasse. Now it is time to change this fixed way of thinking. The Chinese government decided to adopt targeted control measures because it has learned from the past.

At the beginning of this year, Li had a clear judgement. "We don't want to let today's stepping stone become tomorrow's stumbling block," said the premier, reminding his people that the course of China's comprehensive reform should not be disrupted by any single incident for a certain period and that gaining immediate interests could make trouble for the future.

However, doubts linger among overseas observers on whether China will carry on its reform.

A recent report from the Center for American Progress was pessimistic about the implementation of China's economic reform agenda. Despite an ambitious agenda, the report said, the reforms underway and under consideration "will fail to move the needle in a significant way toward a market-oriented economy where all firms can compete on even ground."

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for preparation to endure pressure brought by the reform and pay a price for the reform.

From the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Central Economic Work Conference last year to the annual legislative and political advisory sessions this year, Chinese policy-makers have elaborated on roadmaps for long, medium and short terms.

The Chinese government have unveiled a series of targeted currency policies and fiscal policies that focus on real economy investment.

Targeting support for agriculture and small companies, the central bank announced Monday that it will cut the reserve requirement ratio by 0.5 percentage points for the banks engaged in proportionate lending to the farming sector or small- and micro-sized enterprises, effective on June 16.

Besides, China will build a multi-tier transport system along the Yangtze River to help boost construction of an economic belt along the waterway, according to a statement released Wednesday after a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li.

Actually, China's core macro-economic indicators, such as growth speed, employment rate and price of commodities, are developing steadily. Li said such stability is progress.

Based on a sharp observation of Chinese polices, Tao Dong, Credit Suisse's chief economist in Asia, said the low for China's economic growth has passed.

Goldman Sachs also predicted in a recent report that the Chinese economy is expected to recover the momentum for growth in the second half of this year.

Therefore, targeted control measures need time to be effective, but with small side effects. And China should be prepared for that.