China to keep '15 growth, policy steady under 'new normal'

BEIJING - China will strive to keep economic growth and policies steady in 2015 and adapt to the "new normal" of slower speed but higher quality, said a statement released after a crucial economic policy meeting concluded on Thursday.

The Central Economic Work Conference saw Chinese leaders and senior officials sketching out the government's guiding economic policies and priorities for the country for the next year.

Continuity and stability are key to macroeconomic policies. "The proactive fiscal policy should be stronger and the prudent monetary policy should be more focused on striking a proper balance between being tight and loose," according to the statement.

To reach the 2015 goals, the leaders also vowed to accelerate reforms, further open up economy, encourage innovation, upgrade agriculture, enhance regional integration, and improve low-income people's life.

The meeting is especially crucial after something of a rocky year. In the third quarter, growth slid to a low not seen since the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, dragged down by a housing slowdown, softening domestic demand and unsteady exports.

Growth target deliverable

At the meeting, the leaders including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang stressed that the economy still faces many challenges and "relatively big" downward pressures such as increasing difficulties for businesses and the emergence of economic risks.

Although the risks are generally within control, it will take a while for China to gradually dissolve them, the statement said.

However, the leaders reassured the market that China can deliver its social and economic goals for 2014 "relatively well", with the economy staying within a reasonable range.

The government set an annual economic growth target of about 7.5 percent for 2014 in March during the parliamentary sessions.

The statement fell short of setting a target for 2015, which is usually made public in March, but said the authorities will be "reasonable" in setting such goals.

Zhang Zhanbin, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Governance, told Xinhua that moderate adjustment of economic growth targets can leave more room for reforms.

"For a target which is relatively high, even if it can be achieved through hard work, but it is not good for other work as it stretched too much," Zhang said.