BEIJING, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- Fighting inflation will remain the top priority for China during the second half of the year, and the relations between maintaining stable growth, adjusting economic structure and managing inflationary expectations will be better handled, the central bank said Monday.

The nation will continue its prudent monetary policy during the second half, and make its macroeconomic regulation better targeted, more flexible and forward looking, the People's Bank of China said in a statement on its website.

The fundamentals of China's economy remain sound, and the country still has many positive factors to keep the economy growing steadily and fast, the statement said.

The country will make full use of its macro-control tools, including interest rates, exchange rates, open market operations and reserve requirement ratios, to keep the "reasonable pace and scale" of social funding.

China will continue to optimize credit structure and give further financial support to small- and medium-sized enterprises as well as micro enterprises, according to the statement.

The statement also noted that financial institutions should continue differentiated property loans policy to promote healthy development of the country's real estate sector, while giving more support to water conservation projects.