Chinese premier stresses cross-cyclical adjustment, steady economic performance

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Wednesday called for efforts to implement cross-cyclical adjustment, maintain stable and reasonable expectations, and keep the economy running steadily.

Li made the remarks while presiding over an executive meeting of the State Council, which also approved a plan to build new forms of infrastructure in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) and detailed measures to enhance reservoir safety management.

The meeting urged the enhancement of regular pandemic prevention and control, the fine-tuning of policies and the implementation of cross-cyclical adjustment to ensure continuity, stability and effectiveness of macro policies, in the face of challenges including a resurgence of COVID-19 cases and high prices of bulk commodities.

China will strengthen coordination among fiscal, financial and employment policies and ensure stable and reasonable market expectations, according to the meeting.

More market-oriented measures should be used to stabilize commodity prices and guarantee supplies of electricity and natural gas during the winter, the meeting said.

It also underlined more measures to further promote consumption and maintain the stable growth of foreign investment and foreign trade, to keep the economy running within a reasonable range.

New infrastructure, driven by technological innovation and based on information networks, is conducive to sustaining growth, readjusting the economic structure and enhancing people's wellbeing, the meeting noted.

It urged efforts to step up the construction of information infrastructure, build multi-level industrial internet platforms and promote the intelligent transformation of transport, logistics, energy and municipal infrastructure.

China will support private and overseas capital to participate in the investment and operation of new infrastructure, the meeting added.

On reservoir safety, the meeting said all reservoirs prone to risks will be reinforced by the end of 2025 to strengthen their capabilities in water supply and flood prevention.