China's President Xi Jinping on Friday held a meeting of a key economic policy body, the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, to discuss providing support to manufacturers and lowering logistics costs, Chinese state media reported.

Xi said "logistics is central to the real economy as it connects production and consumption," while urging policymakers to "enhance the core competitiveness of industry and improve the efficiency of economic operations," the report said.

Officials agreed that large-scale equipment renewal across the manufacturing sector would help promote investment and consumption, the report added. (Reporting by Joe Cash, Editing by William Maclean)