BEIJING — China's new loans have reached nearly 7 trillion yuan (about $988 billion) in the first quarter of this year as the country steps up financial support to shore up the virus-hit economy, according to a senior banking official.

This compares with the 5.81 trillion yuan of new yuan-denominated loans in the same period last year.

Zhou Liang, vice-chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, revealed the figure at a press conference on April 3, noting that the increased new loans have greatly supported the real economy in a time when the global COVID-19 pandemic has given rise to economic recession risks and brought external shocks to China's economic and social development.

Liu Guoqiang, vice-governor of China's central bank, said at the press conference that for the next stage, China's prudent monetary policy will be pursued with more moderate flexibility, and more attention will be paid to supporting the recovery of the real economy.

The central bank will keep market liquidity reasonably sufficient to meet practical demands and avoid either a cash shortage or soaring inflation, and that the increase in M2 money supply and aggregate financing should match or be slightly higher than the nominal GDP growth, he said.