China will have another strong harvest this summer, said Premier Wen Jiabao yesterday.

Although he could not give any exact figures for the harvest, as many farmers are still busy getting their crops in, no more surprises are likely to upset the encouraging forecast, said Wen, at yesterday's State Council executive meeting.

Following news of the good harvest the cabinet called for an expansion of the acreage of land planted with autumn crops.

The cabinet also urged for measures to be taken to protect harvests, in particular against floods, which have recently hit southern provinces.

Meanwhile, against a backdrop of increases in foreign trade surpluses in the last few months, the cabinet called for effective measures to balance imports and exports.

This will be achieved through restricting exports of items which take a lot of energy and resources to produce, cause pollution, and through increasing imports of resources in short supply in the domestic market and advanced technologies.

Overall the economy's rapid growth has become more stable. But the cabinet stressed that China is still plagued by problems such as imbalances in the economic structure and threats to energy supplies and the environment.

For the next stage of economic development the cabinet urged officials at all levels to change their single-minded desire to chase growth and investment.

It recommended efforts to boost development in some industries while reining in the growth of others.

For fixed assets investment more resolute measures were called for to slow down growth, and more restrictions on approving land use rights and land-related credit supply.

In addition, State Council members promised a crackdown on illegal land use. New investment projects should be rigorously scrutinized, especially in industries already suffering from over-production.

(China Daily June 15, 2006)