China will continue to implement a moderately easy monetary policy while striving to improve the focus and flexibility of its policies, in accordance with economic conditions, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, said Thursday.

The central bank will work to balance stable and comparatively fast economic growth with the adjustments in the nation's economic structure, while managing inflationary pressure, according to the central bank's quarterly report posted on its website.

The country's economy is likely to maintain its stable and comparatively fast growth momentum in 2010 despite the challenges both at home and abroad, the report said.

The PBOC will increase financial support for sustainable economic development and maintain the healthy and steady operation of the financial system.

It will focus on maintaining a moderate and balanced pace of credit growth in 2010 and guide financial institutions to avoid big fluctuations in loan growth.

The PBOC expects the broad measure of money supply, M2, which covers cash in circulation and all deposits, to increase 17 percent this year compared with 2009.

M2 had risen 27.7 percent year-on-year to 60.6 trillion yuan (US$8.87 trillion) by the end of 2009. China's new yuan-denominated loans in 2009 totaled 9.6 trillion yuan, nearly double the 2008 figure of 4.9 trillion yuan.

(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2010)