BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) - The 13-percent expected growth for China's broad money supply (M2) in 2013 is not a target but a forecast, the country's central banker said on Tuesday afternoon.

Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, told media while attending a panel discussion at the first session of the 12th National People's Congress that the forecast reveals the government's aim to prevent broad money supply from growing too rapidly.

While delivering the government work report at the NPC session, Premier Wen Jiabao said the expected M2 growth for 2013 was 13 percent.

"Compared with the previous figures, the forecast has been projected to emphasize that the year's broad money supply should not grow too rapidly," said Zhou.

It is the lowest since 2009, when the government began specifying M2 growth figures in government work reports.

China's M2 rose by 13.8 percent in 2012. In previous government work reports, the government targeted M2 growth of 17 percent for both 2009 and 2010, 16 percent for 2011 and 14 percent for 2012.