China's annual Central Economic Work Conference opened in Beijing on Monday to set tone for the economic development next year.

Observers believed the three-day event would give priority to efforts to maintain stable economic growth.

They said in 2009 China would see more risks for worse economic slowdown, more struggling smaller businesses, grim export situation and arduous task of transformation of economic growth pattern.

"It is imperative for China to maintain an economic growth of at least 8 percent,"said Zhuang Jian, senior economist with Asian Development Bank's China Resident Mission.

It was hard for China to bear the consequences of a too slow GDP growth, Zhuang added, citing bankruptcy of numerous enterprises, more migrant workers being laid off and difficulties for college graudates to find jobs.

China's macro-economic policies experienced a dramatic adjustment-- from "preventing economic overheating and curbing inflation" at the beginning of this year to "maintaining growth through expanding domestic demand" at present. In the first three quarters, the nation saw its GDP growth slowed to a single-digit rate for the first time over the past five years, thanks partly to macro-economic control efforts and the ongoing financial woes worldwide.

"The Chinese economy has suspended continuous heating and proceeded into a period of slowdown," Zhang Liqun, a researcher with the macro economy department under the Development Research Center of the State Council, commented.

"The slowdown was worse than expected," said Ma Jiantang, head of the National Bureau of Statistics.

Data from the bureau showed that the country's GDP growth was 10.6 percent in the first quarter, 10.1 percent in the second, and 9 percent in the third.

President Hu Jintao said at the end of November that the Chinese economy was pressurized by global economic downturn, obvious ebbing of demand from abroad and weakening of the country's traditional competitive edge.

"Impact from the international financial tsunami on the Chinese economy has begun to show up, and to deepen into various sectors of the real economy,"said Wang Yiming, deputy head of the macro economic research institute of the National Development and Reform Commission.

Since mid-October, the Central Government has promulgated a string of policies and measures to prevent the national economy from sliding drastically. They included end of a tight monetary policy and commencement of a moderately easy one, shifting the fiscal policy from "prudent" to "active", starting projects to improve infrastructure and promote people's livelihood, and expanding domestic demand.

The People's Bank of China announced tax exemptions and down payment cuts from October 27 to boost the falling real estate sector. The minimum down payment for a first-time buyer of a residence smaller than 90 square meters was reduced to 20 percent from 30 percent.

Interest rates on mortgages for first-time buyers were cut 0.27 percentage point. The floor for interest rates was lowered to 70 percent of the central bank's benchmark rate.

The central bank cut benchmark interest rates by 0.27 percentage point from October 30, the third such move in six weeks.