BEIJING (TIP): Chinese premier Li Keqiang has assured global business leaders that his government was determined to prevent a hard landing of the country’s economy. He also said China would do nothing to trigger a currency war.

The assurances, made at the World Economic Forum session in Dalian on Thursday, came in the light of fears that China’s economic decline would hit companies across the globe. Beijing’s recent decision to devalue the Yuan also gave rise to fears about a possible currency war.

The premier admitted that China was undergoing a process that was “full of pains” while trying to transform the economy, which was heavily reliant on investment, to a state where it must grow with the help of enhanced domestic consumption as well as investments.

“But Chinese economy will not see a hard landing, this is not an empty talk,” Li said. “Although there are turbulences, the overall fundamentals are still upbeat”.

He said the government’s pro-growth policies have started taking effects and the economic index has started to pick up after falling for some time. Addressing critics who fear China might further devalue the Yuan and spark a currency war, the premier said the government will keep the “exchange rate stable at a reasonable and balanced level.”

“China assuredly never advocates a currency war,” Li said. “We speak for international cooperation in production capacity. It’s difficult to avoid having competition but if we cooperate, more so than competing, our mutual benefits will forever be greater than the competition between us.”  He told businessmen that the recent devaluation was not the result of any manipulation on the part of the government but merely an influence of market forces.