Senior officials with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance and the central bank held a press conference on economic and social development and macroeconomic regulation Thursday.

China's macroeconomic regulation in the past five years was "effective" and secured a fast yet steady growth of the economy, development chief Ma Kai said on Thursday.

"If you admit China has achieved sound economic and social development but at the same time say the macroeconomic regulation fails to be effective, that doesn't accord with logic or facts," said Ma, minister in charge of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

Ma made the remarks at a press conference on the sideline of the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature.

Ma said that the Chinese economy, with an annual growth of 10 percent or higher in the past five years, has maintained a fast yet steady development without major fluctuations.

"More importantly, the economic efficiency has greatly increased and the economic structure has been further optimized. The Chinese people, in particular, received even greater benefits, " Ma said. "Those achievements are obvious to all."

Ma acknowledged, however, the country faces prominent problems such as overheated growth in fixed asset investment, excessive supplies of money and credit, and excessively large trade surplus, but he noted the problems are being resolved step by step.

"The macroeconomic regulatory measures didn't harm the fundamentals of the Chinese economy," he said.

"China hasn't experienced major fluctuations in economy, that's the most significant results of the macroeconomic regulation."

In addition, Ma said that the country's trade surplus is likely to last for another period of time.

"The key question is not the existence of surplus itself, but whether it is the result of fair play and beneficial to both sides of the international trade," he added.

(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2008)