CHINA-INTERNAL: ECONOMY
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Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), said at the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan on March 26, 2017, that China will substantially cut the number of sectors closed to foreign investment and as China opens wider, “we want China to get fair treatment overseas.” Among financial sectors targeted for further opening in China are banking, insurance, investment banking, securities firms, and payments. Zhou Xiaochuan also said Beijing was in talks with Japan and European and Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) countries about bilateral trade and investment agreements, but was “waiting for the new US administration to decide” how to move forward on agreements. Saying China’s reforms need to include streamlining the fiscal relationship between central and local governments, he added “We need to figure out the central and local government relationship. Different provinces have different fiscal indicators. Some provinces are already over-indebted but some still have room.” He also said that he expected to see more countries start to emphasize fiscal policy and structural reform as the period of loose monetary policy ends. Meanwhile, Chinese Vice Finance Minister Liu Wei on Friday told the forum that China’s debt risks were under control. (Comment: This year, China has capped the size of outstanding local government debt at 18.8 trillion yuan (US$2.73 trillion), up from the 17.2 trillion ceiling in 2016, excluding bonds issued under a debt swap scheme.) |