Chinese President Hu Jintao has called for more powerful and efficient measures to increase domestic demand, consumer demand in particular in order to offset the impacts of the global financial crisis.

In a speech to the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee Political Bureau on Tuesday, Hu said that the government should maintain the policy of giving top priority to increasing domestic demand while stabilizing external demand.

Hu said that the world economic situation was austere and complicated; the global financial crisis had yet to level out; and China's economic growth was under pressure of a slow-down.

But he said no fundamental changes had occurred in the country's basic economic development situation, its advantageous conditions for economic development, its accelerating trend of industrialization and urbanization, and the external environment of peace, development and cooperation.

He said China must be prepared for the most difficult and complicated situations in the world economy and meanwhile make good use of or create development opportunities amid the transformation of international and domestic conditions.

"The strong Party leadership, the advantages of the socialist system, and the united efforts of our people of all ethnic groups are the strength for us to overcome the difficulties and withstand the impacts of the global financial crisis," he said.

Hu urged all Party committees and governments to deepen the implementation of the "scientific view of development" and "carry out the decisions and arrangements of the central authorities in a creative way."

The Chinese government announced a 586 billion U.S. dollar stimulus package last November, to be used to build major infrastructure projects during 2009 and 2010. It has also introduced an array of measures to boost the development of nine key industries, while incentives for one more industry is in the making.

Hu, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, presided over Tuesday's panel study of the Politburo, at which two scholars explained world economic situation and ways to boost economic growth.

The lecturers were Zhao Jinping, of the State Council's Development Research Center, and Bi Jiyao, of the Macro-economic Research Institute under the National Development and Reform and Commission.

Source: Xinhua