Beijing last year struggled to lift the economy out of a slump fuelled by a property market crisis, weak consumption and soaring government debt.
Officials have unveiled measures aimed at bolstering growth, including cutting interest rates and easing homebuying restrictions, but economists have warned more direct stimulus may still be needed.
The People's Bank of China (PBoC) said in a statement it will "implement a moderately loose monetary policy... to create a good monetary and financial environment for promoting sustained economic recovery".
The statement released Saturday reiterated plans to cut interest rates and the reserve requirement ratio which dictates how much banks must hold in their coffers, rather than lending or investing.
It said the changes would be made "at an appropriate time" depending on conditions at home and abroad.
The PBoC emphasised the need to weed out corruption -- signalling the continuation of a long-running crackdown in China's finance industry.
It also said it would continue to help local governments resolve debt burdens with "financial support".
The measures are to "prevent and resolve financial risks in key areas, further deepen financial reform and high-level opening up, focus on expanding domestic demand, stabilising expectations, and stimulating vitality," the statement said.
The bank's announcement came after officials convened for a two-day conference in the capital.
Beijing was aiming for growth of around five percent in 2024, a goal Xi has expressed confidence in achieving but which many economists believe will be narrowly missed.
The International Monetary Fund expects China's economy to have grown by 4.8 percent in 2024 and to grow 4.5 percent in 2025.
Asian shares rise, defying slow Wall Street start to 2025
Hong Kong (AFP) Jan 3, 2025 -
Asian markets gained on Friday, bucking retreats on Wall Street as the dollar advanced and markets reopened following the New Year's holiday.
Hong Kong, Sydney and Taipei climbed, while Seoul surged nearly two percent higher despite deepening political uncertainty in Asia's fourth-largest economy.
South Korean investigators abandoned their attempt to arrest impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol at his residence on Friday over his failed martial law bid, citing safety concerns after a standoff with his security team.
US stocks opened higher on Thursday after the New Year's break but tumbled into the red mid-session before concluding the day modestly lower.
The Wall Street losses were driven in part by disappointing results from Tesla, which slumped 6.1 percent after fourth-quarter auto sales lagged expectations.
The dollar index on Thursday hit its highest level against other currencies since November 2022, reflecting expectations that the US economy will outpace others.
"There's still no flagging of the US dollar's vigour, despite US equities struggling on the first trading day of the year," Alvin Tan, head of Asia FX strategy at RBC Capital Markets, said in a note on Friday.
"The very negative performance of China equities (Thursday) provides a better indication of the weakening sentiment around China assets at the start of 2025, and ahead of Trump's return to the White House," Tan said of US President-elect Donald Trump.
Shanghai stocks finished Friday down 1.6 percent after slumping more than two percent on Thursday while Hong Kong was up, reversing the previous day's trend.
Tokyo remains closed until Monday.
Investors are gearing up for big changes in the coming weeks, especially with January 20's inauguration of Trump, who has threatened deep tariffs, especially on Chinese goods, that could rattle international trade.
Trump's "policies especially on tariffs are inflationary in their very nature", Jung In Yun, CEO of Fibonacci Asset Management Global, said on Bloomberg Television.
"Inflation being very sticky and refusing to come down means we could have the current state of mid-level interest rates for a prolonged period of time."
US jobless claims released Thursday fell more than expected, highlighting a robust labour market and leaving the Federal Reserve with less reason to support fresh rate cuts.
Other significant economic releases ahead include data on inflation and retail sales during the holiday shopping season.
London opened slightly up on Friday, while Paris and Frankfurt started down.
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