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
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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.
"There is no cure-all medicine, and we have to make
the final decisions -- everyone hopes there would be a cure-all solution, but
there is not," said Zhou.
China's consumer price inflation would likely to rise
to 8.5 percent in April from 8.3 percent in March, two sources familiar with the
data said late on Thursday. The data, which is subject to last-minute revisions,
will be officially released on Monday.
Meanwhile, the government said on Friday that China's
producer price index, or factory-gate inflation, hit a three-year high of 8.1
percent in April, showing a sustained build-up in pressures on consumer price
inflation.
Zhou listed development of financial institutions and
the imbalance in global money transfers as other issues that China's monetary
policy may have to target.
He said China needs to reduce the savings ratio as
the fundamental way to address its over-reliance on trade, which now accounts
for more than 60 percent of its annual GDP, but he did not elaborate on possible
specific measures.
On other issues, Zhou said Beijing has yet to reach a
consensus over how to develop a properly functioning domestic bond market.
Disputes remain about market infrastructure, the
regulatory framework as well as laws and regulations, Zhou said.
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. Full story
BEIJING, May 7 -- Inflation could dip to 7.5 percent
in the second quarter from 8 percent in the first, but inflationary pressures
will stay strong because of surging grain prices and robust investment, said a
top government think tank.
"Seasonal changes and government measures to boost
agricultural supplies may cause consumer prices to slide in the second quarter,"
the State Information Center said in a report. "But inflationary pressure is
still mounting because of domestic and international factors." Full story
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
BEIJING, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The slowing growth of China's main inflation indicator is set to continue in the April figures, thanks to falling farm produce prices, market analysts said on Sunday.
The consumer price index (CPI), which hit 8.7 percent for February and 8.3 percent for March, would probably be around 8 percent for April over the same month last year, said Chen Jijun, an analyst with Citic Securities. Full story
