The Chinese government vowed to seek a higher "quality and efficiency" of growth this year and make the nation's growth rely more on domestic demand and less on exports and investment, according a statement issued last month after the annual Central Economic Work Conference, a meeting of senior officials to assess economic and international challenges.

The conference offered a first glimpse into the economic policies of the new top leaders of the Communist Party of China, who decided to maintain a proactive fiscal policy and prudent monetary policy in 2013 as they expect the global economy to maintain a low growth.

Many economists are expecting a growth target of 7.5 percent to be adopted for 2013, the same as last year, as the country must stabilize the economy to boost employment while avoiding a surge in house prices and inflation.

The People's Bank of China, which twice cut the benchmark interest rates and banks' reserve requirement ratio last year, has since switched to short-term cash injections via open market operations to guide monetary policy, wary of fanning price pressures or encouraging a property bubble.

 

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