 |
|
Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's
Bank of China, addresses the Lujiazui Forum 2008 in Shanghai, east China,
May 10, 2008. Heads of the People's Bank of China, the country's central
bank, the Securities Regulatory Commission, the Banking Regulatory
Commission and the Insurance Regulatory Commission all attended the
two-day financial forum, opened on May 9. Lujiazui is the name of
Shanghai's financial district. (Xinhua Photo)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
BEIJING, May 11 -- China needs to cut its high
savings rate to boost consumption and reduce the trade surplus, People's Bank
of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said Saturday.
"The government has pledged to boost consumption and
cut the surpluses in trade and capital accounts," Zhou said at the Lujiazui
Forum 2008 in Shanghai. That "requires that we reduce the current high savings
ratio," he said.
China's trade surplus is pumping cash into the
world's fastest-growing major economy, threatening to stoke inflation that
jumped to an 11-year high of 8 percent in the first quarter. April's trade gap
was about 16.8 billion U.S. dollars, according to figures derived from Ministry
of Commerce data released on Friday.
China has conflicting targets, the central banker
said. "On the one hand, we need to boost consumption to adjust the economic
growth structure, but on the other hand we also need to prevent excessive demand
from fueling inflation," Zhou said. "We need to balance those targets so that
more savings are spent, while the spending doesn't add too much pressure for
inflation."
Flexible
markets
The household savings rate needs to fall, Zhou said.
Zhou's remarks were made to more than 300 government
officials and financial executives attending the two-day financial forum, which
closed Saturday.
Also at the forum, Shanghai Vice Mayor Tu Guangshao
said that the construction of developed and flexible financial markets was the
key to the city building itself into an international financial center.
"The core content for Shanghai in growing into an
international financial center is to establish powerful financial markets, a
link of paramount importance in the whole financial system," Tu said.
"It differentiates Shanghai from other Chinese cities
with similar goals (to build up financial centers) and assists each other to
reach the goals," Tu said.
Shanghai is home to the largest number of financial
elements so far in the mainland, including stock, bond, currency, foreign
exchange, futures and gold exchanges, according to Tu.
The city has unique advantages to develop into an
international financial center based on these powerful markets, said Tu, adding
that the development is interactive with and helpful to other cities' growing
strength in finance.
Many Chinese mainland cities, including Shanghai,
Beijing, Shenzhen and Tianjin, have unveiled plans to develop financial centers,
which has aroused debates over the orientation of each city in terms of
financial development.
"Without markets of developed, complete and flexible
financial elements, there would be no support for other cities to expand their
financial sector as well as for the financial institutions," the vice mayor
said.
Tu outlined a few priorities that Shanghai will carry
out to accelerate the pace of becoming a financial center. Key measures include
pushing forward diversified financial tools and luring more participants.
"We need a more balanced system, which means we will
look to bond and fixed-income products as well as derivatives in the next
phase,'' Tu said. "We need a more open and complete market, which can provide
good services up to par with international standards.''
To reach these targets, the Shanghai government will
shore up efforts to improve the financial environment to move in line with
policies from the central government and the supervision bodies.
The city will try to attract more financial
professionals by innovating incentive packages and establishing a market with
good order and advanced risk-prevention systems, Tu said.
(Source: Shanghai Daily/Agencies)
PBOC: Cutting inflation to remain top
goal
BEIJING, May 11 -- China's monetary authorities are
struggling to address conflicting policy goals, but inflation will remain the
top policy concern, the country's central bank governor said on Saturday.
While the United States and other countries are more
focused on fending off a recession, China's monetary policy must target
inflation over growth and employment, Zhou Xiaochuan, the People's Bank of China
governor, told a forum in Lujiazui, Shanghai's financial center. Full story
Greater controls set to protect
economy
BEIJING, May. 10 -- High inflation and fixed-asset
investment growth are China's biggest economic concerns, prompting authorities
to persist with a tight monetary policy, Vice-Premier Wang Qishan said on
Friday.
In an address to the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai, Wang
also said the government would take specific measures, including prudent fiscal
policies and strengthened and refined macroeconomic controls, to curb an
overheated economy and inflation. Full story
China boosts Shanghai's growth as
global financial center
SHANGHAI, May 9 (Xinhua) -- The financial hub of Shanghai
has more to do to consolidate its status as an international financial center,
China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) chairman Liu Mingkang told a forum
here on Friday.
"Shanghai has laid a solid foundation for making
itself an international financial center. But it is still a big step away from
the objective," Liu told the first Lujiazui Forum on opening day. Full story
