The monetary policy committee of People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, reaffirmed Wednesday that China would maintain its moderately loose monetary policy and enhance financial support to back the sustainability of economic development.

The central bank would maintain continuity and stability in monetary policy while constantly making it better targeted and more flexible as circumstances and conditions changed, the committee said in a statement after a quarterly meeting.

The central bank vowed to maintain moderate credit growth, but said it was still a challenging task, according to the statement.

The government set a target of 7.5 trillion yuan (1.1 trillion U.S. dollars) of new loans this year. In 2009, the country's financial institutions extended a total of 9.6 trillion yuan in new loans.

The central bank would increase financial support to promote transformation of the economic development pattern and adjustment of the economic structure, it said.

The PBOC would work to balance the relationship between maintaining stable and comparatively fast economic growth, adjusting economic structure and avoiding possible inflation.

The central bank's monetary policy committee has 15 members, including senior PBOC governors, top officials in charge of the country's economic operations and three academicians.