China cut interest rates from Friday, following a similar move early last month, as the government seeks to avert a hard landing for the world's second-largest economy.

"Currently, China's economy is generally stable, but downward pressure is still relatively big," the official Xinhua news agency quoted Mr Wen as telling a government meeting in the Nanjing.

"We must take further steps to increase the strength of pre-emptive fine-tuning," he said, referring to economic policy.

China has also ramped up government spending and cut the amount of cash banks must keep in reserve three times since December.

Mr Wen said economic growth remained within the government's target, but urged an active fiscal policy to help the economy.

The government early this year set an annual economic growth target of 7.5 percent, down from expansion of 9.2 percent last year and 10.4 percent in 2010. China's economy grew an annual 8.1 percent in the first quarter of 2012 - its slowest pace in nearly three years.

The government will release the gross domestic product figure for the second quarter on Friday.