Chinese leader urges caution in new year

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao warned his people to keep a “sober mind” about the challenges ahead in the new year as the country welcomed the arrival of the Year of the Tiger with noisy celebrations on Saturday.

“In 2010, China will face a more complicated situation, both at home and abroad,” the state New China News Agency paraphrased Wen as saying, in remarks carried in major newspapers.

People must “keep a sober mind and an enhanced sense of anxiety about lagging behind,” Wen added.

The Chinese government is trying to maintain a balance between the economic growth needed to create jobs for the country’s 1.3 billion people and not letting the economy overheat and drive up the cost of basic goods and housing for residents.

China powered to 8.7% growth last year, by far the strongest of any major economy, driving demand for everything from Chilean copper to Australian iron ore.

The Year of the Tiger is believed to bring with it mythical heroic powers, even if Chinese soothsayers say it is an inauspicious one for marriage. Still, the year is seen as being good for the economy.

Beijing and China’s commercial capital, Shanghai, reverberated with huge fireworks displays and the sound of firecrackers, the smoke from which filled the streets.

Firecrackers are believed to scare off evil spirits and entice the god of wealth to people’s doorsteps once New Year’s Day arrives.

Celebrations were expected to carry on into the early hours Sunday, officially the first day of the Lunar New Year.