The People's Bank of China will step up the implementation of its prudent monetary policy to stabilize economic growth, employment and price levels, the central bank said on Friday.

In the face of a volatile external environment and a foundation of domestic economic recovery that is not yet firm, the PBOC will strengthen cross-cycle and countercyclical adjustments and give play to the function of monetary policy tools on both the aggregate and structural fronts, the central bank said.

Efforts will be made to keep price levels generally stable amid the favorable conditions of the country's stable food output and energy market, the PBOC said in a statement on Friday, after holding its fourth-quarter monetary policy committee meeting on Wednesday.

The central bank said it will work to promote mergers and acquisitions in the real estate industry and improve the balance sheet of leading real estate enterprises while providing new citizens and young people with sound financial services to cater to their housing demands.

The PBOC will also make efforts to enhance its capacity of supervising platform enterprises' financial activity on a regular basis, reduce the financing costs of corporates and individuals, and match the financial support for private enterprises with their contribution to economic and social development.