BEIJING — The State Council, China's cabinet, on Sept 26 called for strengthening the supervision of market prices and keeping prices stable to ensure that people's basic living needs are met.

The country should pay more attention to applying market-oriented methods to keep overall price levels for the year within a reasonable range, according to a statement released after a State Council executive meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang.

The meeting stressed that efforts should be made to secure an adequate supply of basic necessities and keep their prices stable.

We should recover pig production capacity by removing unreasonable bans on pig farming, ensure fodder supply in the main production area and increase the supply of mutton and beef in the market, Premier Li said.

The meeting demanded that the government should track and analyze the trend of commodity prices in the international market, strengthen market supervision and price monitoring and ensure that the basic living needs of people in poverty could be met.

The meeting decided to promote market reform of electricity transactions and reduce the cost for enterprises on power consumption.

From Jan 1, 2020, China will abolish the mechanism of coal-electricity price linkage, and the power price will be decided on by the power generation companies, power sales companies, and power consumers through negotiations or bidding, according to the meeting.

The meeting also approved the eighth group of 762 major historical and cultural sites protected at the national level.