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Correspondents say the Communist Party fears that if annual growth slips below 8%, there will be social instability.

He said he was worried, however, about the safety of the huge amount of China's foreign exchange reserves invested in US government bonds. "We have made a huge amount of loans to the United States. Of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. To be honest, I'm a little bit worried," Mr Wen said

Nearly half of China's $2tn in currency reserves is invested in US treasury bills and other government-affiliated notes, the Associated Press news agency said.

"Tibet's peace and stability and Tibet's continuous progress have proven the policies we have adopted are right," Mr Wen said.

Mr Wen also pressed France to clarify its position on Tibet, saying this was necessary to improve relations. French President Nicolas Sarkozy incurred Beijing's wrath when he met the Dalai Lama in December last year. "The problems that have arisen between China and France arose mainly because the French leader met the Dalai Lama in a prominent way, and this not only involved the core interests of China, it also seriously harmed the feelings of the Chinese people," Mr Wen said.

Earlier this month, figures showed that China's manufacturing sector grew in March for the first time in six months. The purchasing managers index from the state-sanctioned China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing rose to 52.4 from February's figure of 49. Any figure above 50 indicates an expansion in the manufacturing sector.

Manufacturing accounts for about 40% of China's economy and has been hit hard by falling demand for its goods in recession-hit western economies. In fact, Chinese exports plunged by more than a quarter in February from a year ago. Exports dropped by 25.7% to $64.9bn (£47.3bn) compared with the same month a year earlier.

In the final three months of last year, China's economy expanded by 6.8% from a year earlier - below the 8% that officials view as the level needed to keep unemployment in check and avoid social unrest. Overall growth in 2008 stood at 9% - the first time since 2002 that the economy has expanded at a single-digit pace.

Mr Wen has announced a target of 8% growth for China's economy in 2009, but many analysts believe the figure will be closer to 5%. In fact, his comments on positive signs of recovery do not chime with the views of some analysts, who believe China will continue to struggle during the global economic slowdown.

South Korea and the US say Pyongyang may be preparing to test-fire a long-range missile and have warned it against the launch planned for April. The North insists it is preparing to send up a communications satellite. The US, Japan and South Korea have all expressed concerns that the North is actually planning to test-fire a long-range missile. North Korea is banned from firing either device under a UN Security Council resolution prohibiting it from ballistic activity.

North Korean Premier Kim Yong-il - who is not related to leader Kim Jong-il - arrived in Beijing on Tuesday for a five-day trip.

A second government adviser, Hu Angang, has said China should start cutting overall emissions from 2020.

While that is a minority view and final decisions are some way off, the proposals are striking because they are at odds with China's official negotiating stance.

Beijing has hitherto rejected carbon emission caps or cuts, arguing that its priority is to improve its people's living standards – and that the west caused the global warming problem and should fix it. But developed nations argue that they cannot commit to deep cuts and to substantial funding for developing nations to fight climate change unless those countries embrace emissions targets.

Environmental groups and foreign diplomats said a carbon intensity target would be a significant step forward. Any move by China, the world's fastest expanding major economy, biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and most influential developing nation, would have an enormous impact on the outcome of the Copenhagen summit in December."It would be a significant step for China to set a target that directly links carbon emissions to economic growth for the first time," said Yang Ailun of Greenpeace."This is a green shoot of pragmatism that should be nurtured," said one European diplomat.

Hu, an influential economist and advocate of "green revolution", is pressing the government to take a leadership role in Copenhagen by making a public commitment to reduce emissions, and last week submitted the proposal to set a new carbon dioxide goal.He is one of 37 members of an elite body that advised the premier, Wen Jiabao, to include ambitious targets of a 20% improvement in energy efficiency and 10% reduction of pollution in the 2006-2010 plan. With government figures suggesting the country is on course to approach or exceed those goals, Hu suggests they be extended for the next plan with the addition of the carbon dioxide target.

If his proposal is accepted, Hu believes China will be able to make an international pledge this year to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from 2020.

the debate on China's role in greenhouse gas reductions is widening. Last month, the Chinese Academy of Science reported that the country's carbon dioxide emissions relative to GDP should be reduced by 50% by 2020, and that total CO2 emissions should peak between 2030 and 2040 if the country introduced more stringent energy-saving policies and received more financial support and technology from overseas.

Citing new figures from the state bureau of energy, Hu said China overtook the US last year as the world's biggest energy producer with 2.6bn tonnes of standard coal equivalent, seven years ahead of expectations. "If we can't succeed in reducing energy consumption, then no one can. I tell the government that a 1% failure in China is a 100% failure for the world," said Hu. "We must satisfy our national interest and match it with the interest of humanity."