BEIJING) -- Premier Li Keqiang has issued a new call for this country’s macroeconomic policies to be more “scientific, forward-looking and targeted” in order to promote more sustainable growth.

Li Keqiang has made the comments at a conference in Beijing among several economists and business leaders, who have gathered to discuss China’s economy.

It comes as latest government data shows China’s economic growth slowed to 7.5 percent in the second quarter from 7.7 percent in the first.

Li Keqiang says the country’s economy has entered a new phase, where it has to rely more on economic transformation and upgrading.

“We would maintain the economic development under a rational micro-policy frame. If exceeded, adjusted measures involving maintaining economic increase, adjusting structure as well as accelerating reform should be taken. Within the frame, the key task is still to change development mode to realize sustainable and health economic development in a long run.”

The premier also cautions that economic fluctuations are inevitable, saying it’s the government’s task to avoid sharp fluctuations and keep economic growth within a “reasonable range”.

Li Keqiang says when economic growth is in a reasonable range, the government should prioritize promoting economic restructuring and giving better play to the market mechanism.

But when the economy reaches its upper or lower limits, the Premier says macroeconomic policies can be adjusted to either encourage growth or control inflation.

He says there are risks for the economy if it slips out of the reasonable range or undergoes large fluctuations.

Long Guoqiang is a researcher with the State Council’s Development Research Center.

He took part in the conference on July 16.

“The premier has spoken out his understanding toward macroeconomic policies. Based on my observation, it centers around those reforms driven by market force, less government interference and economic restructuring.”

The central government’s goal is to keep growth around 7.5-percent this year, while at the same time holding inflation at around 3.5 percent.

Chinese economy expanded 7.6 percent in the first half, down from a full-year growth rate of 7.8 percent last year.