The People's Bank of China, China's central bank, has asked its branches to effectively implement a moderately loose monetary policy in the second half of the year.

The bank urged maintaining the continuity and stability of monetary policies while making them more targeted and flexible, according to a statement on the bank's website after a meeting with branch presidents.

It also urged adhering to the policy of striking a balance between keeping stable and relatively fast economic growth, adjusting the economic structure and managing inflation expectations.

It asked its branches to stick to its annual lending target while maintaining market liquidity at a reasonable level.

Housing loan policies should be strictly implemented to ensure the stable and healthy development of China's real estate market, the statement said. China's monetary policy should be more proactive, targeted and effective, the statement added.

The central bank has set a target to keep the country's new bank lending to below 7.5-trillion-yuan ($1.1 trillion) in 2010.

In the first half of the year, China's new yuan-denominated lending hit 4.63 trillion yuan, down 2.74 trillion yuan from the same period last year.

(Xinhua News Agency August 1, 2010)