BEIJING - China's banking industry regulator said Monday that preventing systematic financial risks has become a top priority as the global financial crisis enters a more complicated phase.

The country will work to defuse local government debt risks and contain loan risks in the real estate sector, Shang Fulin, head of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said in a statement posted on the commission's website.

Shang also urged banks and financial institutions to enhance their support for China's real economy.

The nation's auditing agency issued a report last June, stating that local government debt totaled about 10.7 trillion yuan (about 1.70 trillion US dollars) as of the end of 2010, of which 17.17 percent will be due in 2012.