China to maintain stable macro-economic policies in new year

China will maintain stable macro-economic policies for steady and fast growth, which is necessary for increasing the national strength and alleviating contradictions in economic and social development, according to sources with a central conference on economic work which ended Thursday.

The three-day annual conference, held by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, produced the guidance, overall requirements and major tasks for the nation's economic development in 2006.

The key to stable and fast economic growth lies in the increase of domestic demand, sticking to prudent fiscal and monetary policies and enhancing and improving macro-economic regulation, said a statement issued after the closed-door meeting.

Efforts will be made to readjust relations between investment and consumption, expand the channels of consumption and improve the consumer environment, with emphasis placed on helping the people, especially farmers, increase consumption.

The fiscal budget structure will be adjusted on the basis of increasing revenue and reducing expenditure, while optimizing the monetary and credit structure.

Efforts will be continued to coordinate financial, monetary and industrial policies, making better use of taxation, interest rate and price tools and improving and strictly implementing the rules concerning market access for optimized distribution of resources, said the statement.

Source: Xinhua