The benchmark one-year deposit rate dropped to 3.60 percent from 3.87 percent, while the benchmark one-year lending rate fell from 6.93 percent to 6.66 percent.

Tax rebates were raised for 3,486 export items from November 1. The adjustment covered such labor-intensive industries as textiles, toys, garments, and high-tech products, accounting for 25.8 percent of products covered by customs tariffs. Rebate rates run roughly from 9 percent to 14 percent.

On November 9, state councilors announced a four-trillion-yuan (US$583.9 billion) economic-stimulus package, which was seen as the most exciting stimuli in 10 years.

To boost consumption, particularly in the rural areas where 900 million people inhabited, was important part of efforts to expand domestic demand, observers said.

China has launched a scheme to subsidize rural residents for buying home appliances since the end of 2007. It is estimated that in a period of four years, nearly 480 million refrigerators, washing machines, color TV sets and cell phones, which were in huge demand among farmers, will be sold in rural areas nationwide. That means 920 billion yuan to be spent by rural consumers.

"There is still a large room for the government to mull more policies to boost consumption, such as raising the threshold for taxable income and increasing income for lower-income earners," said Cai Zhizhou, an economist with the prestigious Peking University.

Export has since long been a major driving force for the Chinese economy. Economists said the stable development of smaller enterprises, particularly the exporters, which provided jobs for 75 percent of urban employees and rural migrant workers, was related to the stability of the enormous Chinese labor market.

How to prevent export from sliding down too fast is one of the top concerns of the Chinese government.

"It is no doubt that China's export situation will become more grim next year. However, if the country manages to maintain a moderately fast growth in foreign sales of machines and electronics, it will likely achieve a growth of more than 15 percent in export at large," said Mei Xinyu, a trade expert with the Ministry of Commerce.

China has taken a string of measures to boost development of smaller enterprises.

"It is necessary for the government to work out more detailed, effective methods to mitigate tax burdens and enhance credit support for smaller businesses, and to help them with their efforts to promote technical upgrading and explore more markets," said Zhao Yumin, another economist with the Ministry of Commerce.

The service sector, which was able to provide numerous jobs, was yet to be expanded substantially, Zhao added.

Zhang Xiaojing, a senior economist with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that it was definitely wrong for China to waive long-term goals for short-term interests. He believed that to promote the shift of growth pattern and maintain a sustainable growth would be one of the important topics for the ongoing Central Economic Work Conference.

(Xinhua News Agency December 9, 2008)