HUA HIN, Thailand -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said on Friday that ending the policies that have helped the world's third-biggest economy weather the global downturn now could deal a setback to the country.

Speaking to the Chinese community in Thailand, where Wen was to attend a regional summit this weekend, he said he was as "full of confidence" in the prospects for China's economy, but asked companies not to rest on their laurels simply because it had begun to recover.

Chinese firms and the economy overall "rely, to quite a large extent, on the boost from our economic development policies", he said.

"If China now removes these policies too early all of our previous efforts will be wasted and we could even be dealth a setback."

That sentiment was signalled earlier this week when China announced that annual GDP growth quickened to 8.9 percent in the third quarter, in line with market expectations.

The State Council, or cabinet, said the recovery had been consolidated but pledged consistency, reaffirming the "active fiscal policy and appropriately loose monetary policy" it adopted after exports plummeted a year ago when the Lehman Brothers collapse brought the financial crisis to a climax.

Economists say the government will easily beat its target of 8 percent average growth for all of 2009, a goal that looked fanciful early in the year when the global financial system was melting down.

With the United States and Europe emerging from recession with huge debt burdens that will weigh on consumption, global policymakers are looking to China to carry more of the burden of growth by expanding domestic demand.

China has put this stance into practice with a 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) stimulus package and an unprecedented surge of bank lending.