Although a Reuters reporter expressed thinly veiled worries about China's financial market in his questions posed to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang at the annual major news conference on Wednesday, it has become clear that Chinese top leaders are not turning a blind eye to some of the problems that have arisen as the country remakes its economy.

During the two-hour news conference that wrapped up the annual session of the top legislature, the premier took a handful of questions from both domestic and foreign journalists, with a strong focus on the Chinese economy.

The premier's answers to the questions indicated that while it will not be an easy mission for China to pursue its economic reforms on multiple fronts, it will decidedly have benefits in the longer term while also allowing for economic stability to be maintained in the meantime.

Li responded to the Reuters reporter's questions by saying that the country has the capacity to hedge against risk in the financial market, and he also offered reassurance on a variety of other challenges facing the economy. Problems in the real economy pose the biggest threat to the financial market, Li said.

The nonperforming loan ratio at financial institutions has been rising due to the difficulties that some sectors and enterprises have faced since last year in keeping their businesses afloat, according to the premier.

However, commercial banks' capital adequacy ratio is over 13 percent, higher than the international average, and the ratio of provisions to bad loans that financial institutions are required to set aside has hit more than 180 percent, the premier revealed, reflecting the nation's capacity to resist financial risks.

It is worth noting that in addition to this confidence-inspiring data, the willingness voiced by the premier to press on with reforms that will lead to tougher and more efficient oversight of the financial market should help to convince the markets of promising prospects for the economy, despite all the problems that have been encountered so far.

Addressing widespread concerns about China's financial stability after its stock market experienced wild swings last year and its currency saw drastic fluctuations, Li stated that the authorities have adopted a comprehensive set of measures to stabilize the stock market, which have helped in preventing systemic financial risks from happening.

The next step, the premier said, is to make sure that relevant regulatory bodies are particularly careful with their scrutiny of the financial markets, given the growing number of innovative financial products that are available.

Having said all that, the country has certainly drawn lessons from last year's volatility - especially in its stock market, which could be seen as a stress test for the wider economy. So these short-term pains should lead to longer-term gains.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn