China's economic recovery is yet to gain momentum and the economic strains may continue for some more time, Premier Wen Jiabao has warned, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

The country's economic recovery is not yet stable and economic hardships may continue for a period of time, he said during an inspection tour in southwest Sichuan province over the weekend.

The Chinese economy expanded 7.6 percent in the second quarter, marking the weakest growth rate since the first quarter of 2009.

In the second half of the year, the government will increase efforts to fine-tune its policies and make policies more targeted and effective, Wen said.

A meeting of the State Council this week is widely expected to churn out policies for the second half. Wen have been calling for further fine-tuning of the country's policies to stabilize growth after indicators continued to point to weaker economic performance ahead.

The State Council had earlier warned the economy is currently facing "increasing downward pressure."

The Premier noted that the economy is running at a slower, but more stable pace. The economic growth rate is still within the government target range set early this year and the stabilization policies taken by the government are working, he added.

China's economic fundamentals remain sound and the country still enjoys huge growth potential, Wen said.

However, concerns remain over the economy's ability to sustain its growth momentum. On July 5, the People's Bank of China unexpectedly reduced the interest rate for a second time in less than a month. The bank has cut the reserve requirement rate three times since November last year.

The Asian Development Bank last week cut China's growth forecast for 2012 to 8.2 percent from 8.5 percent citing a fall in exports, industrial output and investment. The lender also lowered the 2013 growth projection to 8.5 percent from 8.7 percent.

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