China to focus on targeted policy changes, premier Li says

BEIJING (Reuters) - China will direct any changes in its monetary policy to specific areas of the economy so as to achieve its 2014 growth target, Premier Li Keqiang was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

Li, quoted by China National Radio, said the world economy faced a complex environment and that China needed to keep its economic growth within a reasonable range.

But Li said authorities had to concentrate on "targeted changes in policy", a phrase used to describe any adjustments in policy that apply only to specific sections of the world's second-largest economy.

His remarks support a view among some analysts that China is reluctant to loosen monetary policy in a straightforward manner this year, such as by cutting interest rates, because it wants to avoid spurring financial speculation and wasteful investment.

It would also dampen speculation that China will relax reserve requirements for all Chinese banks in coming months to lift the economy and ensure it hits the government's 2014 growth target of around 7.5 percent.

Authorities have been more cautious.

The central bank said on Monday it would only reduce the amount of reserves that banks must hold for those that provide financial support to the real economy, as defined by the farming sector and small companies.

(Reporting by Shen Yan and Koh Gui Qing; Editing by Ron Popeski)