China has multiple policy tools to bolster growth: Premier

BEIJING, March 15 -- China still has a host of policy tools at the government's disposal to bolster its economic growth, Premier Li Keqiang said Sunday.

It is "by no means easy" to achieve this year's target of registering an economic growth at around 7 percent, as, with the expansion of the Chinese economy, a 7-percent increase in the Chinese economy is equivalent to the total size of a medium-sized economy, Li said at a press conference after the conclusion of China's annual parliamentary session.

The Chinese economy will operate within an appropriate range when the economic development enters a "new normal," Li said.

China's gross domestic product expanded 7.4 percent last year, its lowest level of growth since 1990.

"The good news is that in the past couple of years we did not resort to massive stimulus measures for economic growth. That has made it possible for us to have fairly ample room to exercise macro-economic regulation, and we still have a host of policy instruments at our disposal," he said.