China will not alter economic policy, says Finance Minister

BEIJING - China will not dramatically alter its economic policy because of any one economic indicator, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said in a statement after many economists lowered growth forecasts due to the country's latest set of weak data. China's total social financing aggregate, a broad measure of lending in the economy, was the weakest in nearly six years—indicating credit levels were far below average.

While measures adopted by China to bolster the economy during the international financial boosted economic growth, it also brought excess capacity, environmental pollution, and the growth of local government debt, among other issues.

As a result, Lou indicated that China cannot completely rely on public financial resources to make large-scale investments in infrastructure. Lou also affirmed that macro-economic policy will continue to focus on comprehensive measures, especially maintaining employment growth and stability in the price of goods. www.webershandwick.cn (ATI).