BEIJING - Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Tuesday that macroeconomic policies should be more scientific, forward-looking and targeted to promote continuous and healthy growth in the long run.

Li made the comments at a conference about the country's current economic situation, after data showed China's economic growth slowed to 7.5 percent in the second quarter from 7.7 percent in the first.

Experts and business leaders at the conference believed that China's economy is generally stable, although difficulties and risks remain.

It is inevitable to see economic fluctuations, Li said, adding that a major task of macroeconomic control is to avoid sharp fluctuations and keep economic growth within a reasonable range.

"The lower limit is to stabilize economic growth and maintain employment, while the upper limit is to prevent inflation," Li said.

China aims to keep economic growth at around 7.5 percent this year and hold inflation at around 3.5 percent.

Its economy expanded 7.6 percent in the first half of the year, down from a full-year growth of 7.8 percent in 2012, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, grew to 2.7 percent year on year in June, up from 2.1 percent in May.

Li said that the country's economy has come to a new phase when it must rely more on economic transformation and upgrading. The government should coordinate the efforts of stabilizing economic growth, promoting restructuring and advancing reforms.

It should also establish a scientific macro policy framework to ensure stable market expectations and cultivate sound environment for development, Li said.

When economic growth is in the reasonable range, the government should take transforming the economic development pattern as the major task, promoting economic restructuring and giving better play to the market mechanism.