China's economy in the third quarter showed signs of taking a turn for the better, a development expected to support growth, Premier Wen Jiabao said.
Many analysts saw the premier's statement as suggesting that the country's economic slowdown bottomed out in the past three months.
"China's economy will continue to stabilize as government policies get further implemented," said Wen, according to a report from the central government website on Wednesday.
The premier made those remarks at meetings he held from Friday to Monday with economists, business executives and local government officials.
The National Bureau Statistics is set to release economic data about the country's third quarter on Thursday.
"We didn't adopt a large stimulus package to promote growth, and many enterprises have been pushed to adjust their business structures to fight against the current risks," Wen said.
On Thursday, top Chinese economists called for the country to lay the foundation for its own stable growth by moving more quickly to make market reforms and embracing a "new period of openness".
China can only maintain a high rate of economic growth in the next decade by allowing industries that are able to compete internationally to develop in a relatively unimpeded way, scholars said at a forum at Tsinghua University.
The 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the occasion for a change in the country's top leadership, is scheduled take place in three weeks. Policy advisers said the government's chief task in the coming years will be to change the country's fundamental way of achieving economic growth.
Free competition should be encouraged among highly profitable industries, such as telecommunications and transportation, said Justin Yifu Lin, former chief economist for the World Bank.
