China vows to protect economic stability, control prices

Dec 14, 2011, 5:17 GMT

Beijing - China's ruling Communist Party on Wednesday vowed to protect economic stability by controlling property and consumer prices, promoting domestic demand and maintaining the value of its currency.

The government would continue its 'prudent monetary policy and proactive fiscal policy' next year, said a statement following a three-day annual Central Economic Work Conference, led by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao.

The main theme of next year's economic and social development would be 'making progress while maintaining stability,' said the statement issued via state media.

The government would takes measures to ensure that consumer prices remained 'basically stable.'

It would continue to regulate the property market in a bid to make housing prices 'return to a reasonable level' through policies including speeding up construction of affordable housing, it said.

It would also keep the exchange rate of its renminbi currency at a 'basically stable' level next year, the statement said, potentially bringing more trade friction with the United States and other nations that accuse China of deliberately undervaluing the currency to make exports cheaper.

But the Chinese leaders promised to 'deepen market-oriented reforms' of its exchange-rate mechanism and its setting of bank interest rates.

Chinese economists have forecast economic growth of about 8.5 per cent next year, down from a projected 9.2 per cent this year.

Some 300 members of the party's Central Committee and top leaders of the government's State Council take part in the annual economic conference.