The country's biggest priority for next year is to avoid big swings in the economy, state officials said in a document summing up the decisions reached at the Central Economic Work Conference held from Tuesday through yesterday in Beijing.

"The primary task for the coming year is to enhance and improve macroeconomic controls to maintain and expand the momentum of economic growth," the statement said.

The government will maintain a stable monetary and fiscal policy in the coming year, it said, while it will still carry out steps to fine-tune the economy if needed.

The statement added that promoting greater balance in the country's international payments - by actively expanding imports and keeping export growth in check - will be an important part of the efforts to ensure stable growth.

To bring greater balance to the economy, the state will also seek to stimulate domestic consumption while remaining vigilant on investment growth, the main target of many of China's tightening measures this year. Those steps included two interest rate increases and a slowdown on investment projects.

Many economists have stressed the need for China to adjust its growth model to rely more on consumption and less on investment and exports.

Conference delegates also proposed the government should focus on bringing in advanced technologies, management and foreign expertise.

China would continue the strategy of "going global" by encouraging overseas investment, officials said.

China's direct investment overseas neared US$12.3 billion last year, according to a UN report.

Another focus of the conference was the country's low-income groups.

The conference delegates proposed to boost the income levels and consumption of rural people and the urban poor, calling for greater attention to creating employment opportunities.

At the same time, the proportion of middle-income groups should steadily increase, while excessively high earnings should be effectively adjusted through taxation, officials said.

The summary of the meeting did not list any specific growth targets for 2007. The economy expanded by 10.7 percent in the first nine months of 2006, setting it on course for its fourth consecutive year of double-digit growth.

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