China to ensure quality, steady growth

BEIJING - China will work to ensure quality and steady economic growth in the second half of 2013 by boosting demand, industrial upgrading and reforms, according to a government report.

According to the State Council's report on the implementation of China's economic and social development plan, to improve the quality and efficiency of the country's economic development will remain a "central task" in the second half of the year.

The report, delivered to the ongoing bimonthly session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, said the country will maintain the consistency and stability of its macroeconomic policies and continue to implement a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy.

China's economic growth, which was boosted by strong domestic demand in the first six months of the year, was higher than expected, said Xu Shaoshi, who delivered the report on behalf of the State Council. Xu is head of the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner.

In the first six months, the country's economic growth hit 7.6 percent, higher than the 7.5 percent target, he said.

Meanwhile, China saw a "moderate and controllable" rise in the consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, and the job market was "generally stable," he said.

The National People's Congress (NPC) is China's top legislature. The NPC Standing Committee session opened on Monday and will end on Friday.