Chinese Premier Calls for Stabilization of Employment, Prices to Shore Up Economy

NANCHANG — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Monday called for the stabilization of employment and price levels to keep the country’s economy running within an appropriate range.

Li, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while presiding over a symposium on the economic situation in east China’s Jiangxi Province, which government officials from Jiangxi, Liaoning, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Sichuan provinces attended online or offline.

While highlighting the strong resilience of the Chinese economy, Li urged people to remain vigilant in the face of unexpected changes and mounting downward pressures both domestically and externally, and face up to new challenges.

The premier underscored the need to use this time to implement decisions and measures laid out during the Central Economic Work Conference in 2021 and in this year’s government work report.

Supportive policies such as tax refunds and cuts, financial support for the real economy, the issuance of special government bonds, and the construction of key projects should be accelerated to help market entities tide over difficulties, he said.

He urged solid efforts to boost spring farming, strive for a bumper grain harvest for the whole year, and consolidate the foundations of stable prices.

Efforts should be made to ensure stable supplies of electricity, coal and other energies, and maintain the orderly operations of key transport networks and ports so as to maintain the stability of industrial and supply chains, Li said.

The premier said that targeted supportive measures should be unveiled for sectors and firms facing difficulties — particularly medium, small and micro-sized enterprises, and individually owned businesses.

Li also stressed the importance of ensuring the supply of daily necessities for people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need to work to meet the people’s medical treatment needs.