Beijing has levers and skills to keep economy stable, Li Keqiang says

The central government has the confidence and ability to take effective austerity measures to avoid wild swings in economic development, Vice-Premier Li Keqiang said yesterday, in his first public speech in the new post.

'Under the circumstances of a complex world economy, China's fast and stable economic development is particularly important,' he said at a forum held in Beijing over the weekend.

Mr Li, who is tipped to succeed Premier Wen Jiabao when he retires in 2013, said the government would keep macroeconomic controls at a reasonable level in accordance with 'new situations and new problems'.

The mainland made curbing inflation its top priority this year after inflation hit a near 12-year high of 8.7 per cent last month. However, with the unfolding global economic uncertainties induced by the United States subprime crisis, leaders have become more alert to offshore risks that could trigger an economic slowdown as the mainland became more integrated with the global economy.

Despite difficulties such as the slowing US economy and a falling US dollar, Mr Li said the mainland itself was a huge market that provided a buffer against external pressures.

At the same forum, Zhang Ping, the newly elected director of the National Reform and Development Commission, pledged to boost domestic consumption as a key driver of economic growth.