The new development sub-forum of RMB internationalization under new circumstances of the Financial Street Forum 2022 annual conference is held in Beijing, capital of China, on November 22, 2022. [Photo/VCG]
BEIJING — The Financial Street Forum 2022 annual conference, which ends here on Wednesday, brought together senior officials from China’s monetary and financial authorities, who discussed the reform and high-quality development of the country’s financial sector.
Here are some key takeaways from their speeches and remarks during the three-day conference.
Support the real economy
Due to their awareness of the challenges and downward pressure facing the Chinese economy this year, the authorities chose to adjust monetary policy in a timely manner to further support the real economy, Yi Gang said. governor of the People’s Bank. from China.
“As measured by economic performance, China’s macroeconomic policy has proven to be well calibrated,” Yi said at the conference on Monday.
With rapid policy adjustments, China has maintained economic stability and safeguarded price stability at home despite rising inflationary pressures around the world, he said.
Yi pointed out that the central bank has also taken advantage of structural monetary policy tools to strengthen support for agriculture, small and medium enterprises, private enterprises and other supply-side structural weak links, making financing more accessible, available and affordable.
Regarding the housing market, Yi said the PBOC has tailored policy solutions to local specifics, including reducing mortgage rates and down payment ratios to meet real housing needs.
Speaking at the conference, Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, said the fundamentals of China’s long-term economic development remain unchanged and the trend towards high-quality economic development continues.
Fu said he expects China’s economy not only to grow on a large scale, but also to adopt structural improvement next year, propelled by green industries and other new engines of growth.
FX Market Resilience
China’s foreign exchange market has shown increasing resilience despite fluctuations in global financial markets, Pan Gongsheng, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said at the annual conference.
“Compared to the previous two periods of US dollar appreciation, the renminbi exchange rate has become less sensitive to fluctuations in the US dollar index since 2021,” he said.
“Overall, against major developed and emerging market currencies, the renminbi’s depreciation is at an average level. Despite fluctuations, cross-border capital flows have been stable and orderly overall,” Pan added.
Pan, also vice-governor of China’s central bank, attributed the resilience of the foreign exchange market to the two-way fluctuation and flexibility of the renminbi, a surplus in the basic international balance of payments, the improvement in the structure external debt and the promotion of exchange rate hedging instruments. .
Going forward, China’s foreign exchange market will maintain smooth functioning, Pan said, citing the strong fundamentals for China’s long-term healthy economic growth and possible changes in internal and external macroeconomic environments.
High-level financial openness
China’s financial sector has entered a new phase characterized by high-level opening up, said Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.
Since 2017, assets of foreign banks in China have increased by nearly 30 percent and assets of foreign insurance companies in China have increased by about 120 percent, according to Guo.
“We will, as always, welcome foreign financial institutions with sound operations, good qualifications and outstanding specialties to participate in the Chinese market,” Guo said.
Modern capital market with Chinese characteristics
Yi Huiman, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said China’s capital market has explored a path that “follows general capital market laws and at the same time has Chinese characteristics”.
Past works that have shaped this path include reforming the registration-based IPO system, improving the quality of listed companies and establishing special risk control mechanisms, Yi said. .
To build a modern capital market with Chinese characteristics, he said efforts will be made to address issues such as the structure and valuation of listed companies, the capital market investment culture, as well as the structure of investors.
Noting that China has more than 200 million individual investors, Yi pledged that while continuing to encourage institutional investment, more emphasis will be placed on protecting the legitimate rights and interests of small and medium investors.
