BEIJING, July 6: China's economic Czar and new central bank chief, Vice Premier Zhu Rongji, convened a national meeting here to crack down on the country's chaotic financial sector, an official report said, according to AFP.

Zhu warned the national finance work meeting that “some glaring problems" have emerged and said the central government would increase its controls over the financial sector, the national Evening News said in its lead.story.

Financial discipline and management would be stepped up. Zhu said.

The main purpose of the meeting was to “rectify order", the leader said, but he stressed that the tool for doing so would be deepening market reforms.

China's financial woes were to blame on over-spending, he said. China s economy grew' 14 per cent in the first five months of year and the government has acknowledged that the economy has become overheated.

China axed the head of People's, Bank of China, Li Guixian.’last Friday and named Zhu as his replacement.

Zhu has been quick to act.

Tjie central government has issued a tough 16-poinl plan to restore economic order, a

Beijing-controlled Hong Kong newspaper. Wen Wei Po reported Saturday.

The main focus of the plan is reducing inflation and cutting out-of-control investment.

Measures included increasing interest rates on savings deposits this month, reducing capital construction projects and freezing price reforms in the second half of the year.

The government will slash spending by its administrative organs by 20 per cent, while banks were given a deadline to call in loans to fund speculative ventures and will be strictly limited in new lending.