Beijing  - Premier Wen Jiabao on Friday said China has made contingency plans for extra measures to bolster the economy against the global financial crisis if its recent stimulus package proves insufficient.

   The government has reserved further funds in case of a "protracted and very difficult" financial crisis, "which means that at any time, we can introduce new stimulus policies," Wen told reporters.

   He said Chinese society remains stable despite a "gloomy employment situation," adding that he expected both China and other nations to recover from the financial crisis next year.

   China needs to encourage the development of smaller and medium-size businesses "because they create 90 per cent of the jobs," Wen said at the end of the annual National People's Congress, the nominal parliament of China's ruling Communist Party.

   Reports on the budget and economic performance were approved Friday by a large majority of the nearly 3,000 NPC members who took part in rapid electronic voting at the end of the parliament's nine-day session.

   Wen's economic report, which was approved by 98 per cent of the voting delegates, included a rallying call to tackle the "arduous and formidable" tasks of reinvigorating China's faltering economic growth this year.

   The expansion of domestic consumption, "especially individual consumption," would be crucial to the efforts to rebalance the economy, Wen told the congress, which endorses policies and legislation drafted by the ruling Communist Party.

   Wen said he believes China could still achieve its target for 8-per-cent growth in gross domestic product this year by implementing the 4-trillion-yuan (586-billion-dollar) economic stimulus package announced in November.

   He said the stimulus package would address "not only the symptoms but also the root causes" of China's economic problems.

   The "massive plan to adjust and reinvigorate industries" would focus on cars, steel, shipbuilding, petrochemicals, information technology and other key industries.

   It includes 1.18 trillion yuan in direct government investment for new projects in social welfare, technology, environment and infrastructure, Wen said.

   "The whole process will be transparent and the whole process will be subject to supervision," he said.

   The annual budget includes another 14.9-per-cent jump in military spending this year after several years of double-digit rises. It was approved by 85 per cent of the congress delegates.

   Wen said the record annual budget deficit of 950 billion yuan (140 billion dollars) will be offset by the issue of government bonds and remains at a "safe" level below 3 per cent of China's GDP.

   Reports by the Supreme People's Court gained 75 per cent of the NPC votes on Friday, in a traditional reflection of concerns over judicial corruption by a minority of delegates.

   Wen said China plans to "actively advance" reforms to its "socialist democracy," by promoting judicial equality, transparency and better supervision of the government.

   But he made no mention of electoral reform or moves towards multi-party democracy, which the Communist Party has ruled out indefinitely.