A meeting of the political bureau of Communist Party of China called for sharper competitiveness in the financial sector and vowed an intensified crackdown on bribery and corruption, Xinhua news agency said.

President Hu Jintao speaks at a meeting in this file photo. [Xinhua]

The meeting, chaired by President Hu Jintao, also stressed the need to strengthen financial support for China's poor rural residents, agriculture production, underdeveloped regions, and small and medium businesses, the report said without citing any sources.

At a separate meeting, Premier Wen Jiabao said the government should develop more effective policies to regulate the size and structure of bank loans, and other factors effecting the growing Chinese economy, state media also reported.

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Wen made the comments at a meeting on financial reform with the country's eight non-Communist parties and non-party financial experts, Xinhua said, again without quoting any sources.

He also called for more efforts to improve financial services and strengthen supervision of financial institutions.

The non-Communist party officials advised Wen on the need for more reform of state-owned banks and improved management of foreign exchange reserves.

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