China's central bank official has called on the country's financial institutions to closely monitor new trends in the economy and improve financial support for fighting the economic downturn.

"The domestic and overseas economic and financial situation that we are facing is undergoing unprecedented complicated changes," said Li Dongrong, assistant governor of the People's Bank of China, in a statement on the bank's website on Monday.

These changes were posing "new challenges" to monetary and credit policies, he said. Li's comments were made during his trip to east China's Zhejiang Province on July 8 and 9, according to the statement.

The country was still facing a daunting task in restructuring its economy as the country faces difficulties in implementing its policies to expand domestic demand while external demand continuedto be slack, Li said.

He said local agencies of the central bank and commercial lenders need to do more research to find out the real situation ofthe economy and the financial sector, so as to better serve the economic development.

Li also said the central bank would continue to stick to the principle of preventing risks and guide the flow of loans to keep the financial system stable.

(Xinhua News Agency July 14, 2009)