China's finance minister calls price stability top priority for economy

China’s finance minister Xie Xuren called for policies aimed at slowing price rises, but without threatening appropriate economic growth, Reuters reported. Inflation hit a three-year high of 6.5% in July, “We need to make stabilizing prices the top priority. We will slow down price rises, but avoid causing big fluctuations in economic growth,” Xie said. The minister also said the government will use fiscal policy to stabilize prices. In his remarks, Xie also addressed fiscal reform and methods to reign in local government debt. China has expressed official concerns about slowing global growth, and most analysts expect monitory policy to remain tight in the near term.