China's central bank noted in a report Thursday that loan growth was "appropriate" in 2004 amid great efforts made by the central government to cool down the economy.

The outstanding renminbi-denominated loans at Chinese banks stood at 17.7 trillion yuan (2.1 trillion US dollars) by the end of last year, up 14.5 percent on the year. The growth rate fell 6.6 percentage points from a year earlier.

However, long- and medium-term loans, which are serviced in more than one year, added 1.37 trillion yuan (165.5 billion dollars), a figure the central bank said was "fairly big."

China implemented a raft of macro-economic control policies and domestic banks issued fewer loans to overheated sectors including real estate, steel, cement and aluminum last year.