Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang on Thursday called for expanding domestic demand to be given a higher priority amid a grim economic outlook and unwavering restrictions on the property market.

China should boost domestic demand to advance economic restructuring and put restructuring "in a more prominent position" while maintaining economic growth and price stability, Li said during a national symposium on development and reforms.

The government should help low-income groups earn more, increase the proportion of middle-income groups and stimulate employment to improve residents' consumption power, Li said.

He called for more investment in areas concerning people's livelihood, such as government-subsidized housing projects and medical and health care reforms, as an effective way to expand domestic demand.

Authorities will not waver in regulating the property market, Li reiterated.

"We should continue to curb speculative investment in the housing sector and increase the supply of commodity houses to promote healthy development of the market," he said.

Domestic consumption is deemed the weakest among the three major engines driving China's economic growth: consumption, export and investment.

China's gross domestic product expanded 9.1 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2011, slowing from 9.5 percent in the second quarter and 9.7 percent in the first quarter.

"The economic situations at home and abroad will be very grim and complicated next year; we must be calm and sober-minded in tackling them," Li said.

He underlined social stability, urging authorities to attach great significance to solving outstanding issues concerning people's vital interests and to speed up reforms of the nation's income distribution system.

"Next year will be a very important year in the path of our nation's development... we should keep the society harmonious and stable," Li said.

He also noted that new breakthroughs need to be made in reforming the pricing mechanism of natural resources as well as overhauling investment, fiscal and financial systems.

More private investment should be encouraged in such areas as railways, urban construction and energy, while efforts should be made to boost imports and keep exports growing stably, he added.

(Xinhua News Agency December 15, 2011)