Key annual conference vows more opening-up

By Song Lin Source:Global Times Published: 2019/12/15 20:58:39

Nation takes measures to keep economy in reasonable range: official


Photo: Xinhua

Further opening-up can help bolster the efficiency and competitiveness of Chinese markets, while relieving pressure on the global economy, Chinese experts said on Sunday.

They spoke following the country's Central Economic Work Conference, which called for stepped-up efforts to boost opening-up and reforms in a wider, deeper and more comprehensive manner in 2020.

The just-concluded annual conference in Beijing, which charts the course for the country's economic policy in the coming year, shows that China will ensure that its foreign trade is stable and of better quality, and will lower the overall level of tariffs, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

The country will also enhance the promotion and protection of foreign investments, and shorten the negative list for foreign investment next year, it said.

China has accelerated its opening-up pace over the past two years, including the finance and services sectors.

"A new round of comprehensive opening-up next year could increase the overall economic growth of China, meanwhile facilitating the integration of the Chinese economy with the global economy," Liu Xuezhi, a senior economist at the Bank of Communications, told the Global Times.

He said that restrictions on foreign investments will be further reduced or eliminated in the opening-up process.

Recently, the first approved foreign fund sales license was officially awarded in Qingdao, East China's Shandong Province, according to China Central Television on Sunday.

Amid mounting downward pressure on the global economy, the continuous opening-up of China - the second-largest economy in the world - can also bring energy and momentum to global economic growth, Liu said.

Photo: Xinhua

China's average contribution to the global economic growth from 2013 to 2016 reached 31.6 percent, topping the world while outpacing the contribution rates of the US, the eurozone and Japan combined, according to the website of the State Council, the country's cabinet.

The global economy has been slowing because of accelerating instabilities and risks, and therefore it is critical for China to make comprehensive preparation for the upcoming challenges, the conference noted.

Ning Jizhe, a deputy head of China's National Development and Reform Commission, said at a forum on Saturday that China will maintain a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy, strengthen counter-cyclical adjustments and upgrade its industry and consumption, to keep economic growth in reasonable range.

China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange said in a statement on Sunday that it will strive to prevent and defuse major financial risks in the foreign exchange sector, and effectively maintain the stability of the foreign exchange market and the country's economic and financial security.

A prudent monetary policy is the premise for China's economic growth and the further opening-up of the financial sector, Liu said.

Posted in: ECONOMY

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