Image Source: Visual China

BEIJING, May 18 (TMTPOST) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang called for new measures to shore up economic growth and secure employment at a meeting in southwestern China’s Yunnan Province on Wednesday.

The meeting was attended by government heads from 12 provinces, including all of the top ten provinces by GDP.

Li pointed out that some economic indicators have been going down since March, especially in April. Li noted that there are over 150 million market players in the country and that overall consumer price is now stable, meaning China has enough room for deploying policies to tackle the mounting challenges faced by the economy.

He highlighted that efficient pandemic control and prevention measures should be taken and that the government should adopt policies to help drive economic growth.

Li said that steps would be taken to stabilize land and property prices to ensure the healthy development of the property market. The central bank cut mortgage rates for first-time homebuyers earlier last week.

Li said the government should see job creation as a priority and stabilize employment rates by keeping market players running. He asked governments at varous levels to fully implement current policies on tax deduction and refund, while guiding financial institutions to grant grace periods to medium- and small enterprises and self-employed people regarding  their interest payments. 

The government is also required to ensure the supply of food and energy and facilitate transportation while controlling the pandemic.

Li urged governments at all levels to come up with new measures to boost the economy as soon as possible in May to keep economic indicators within a reasonable range and get the economy back on track. 

The Chinese premier also reiterated support for digital-economy companies and their public listings. China’s Vice Premier Liu He said on Tuesday at a conference held by the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, stating that the Chinese government supports the development of the tech sector and both domestic and overseas public listings for Chinese tech companies.

See also: China’s Vice Premier Stresses Support for Tech Sector