The Monetary Policy Committee of the People's Bank of China (PBC) held its third quarterly meeting of 2008 in Beijing days ago.
After analyzing current economic and financial situation both at home and abroad and discussing the possible impact of the international financial turmoil on China s economic and financial development, the Committee held that, as the US sub-prime mortgage crisis had caused drastic fluctuations in the global financial market and spilled over into financial institutions and even the real economy, the outlook of the global economy was unfavorable, and proper measures should be taken accordingly.
At the same time, lessons should be drawn from the current financial crisis to improve China s banking system and the regulatory regime so as to maintain the stability of the country s financial system and financial market.
The meeting held that, as a series of well-targeted macro control measures formulated by the State Council began taking effect, China s economy kept developing in the direction intended by the macro control, the financial system remained safe and sound, and the overall situation was good. Further efforts should be made to thoroughly implement the scientific approach to development, adopt flexible and prudent macro policies in line with the changing domestic and international situation, properly manage the orientation, intensity and pace of the macro control as appropriate, thus creating a benign monetary environment for sound and rapid economic growth.
Efforts should be made to strengthen coordination of monetary policy with fiscal policy, industrial policy, trade policy and financial regulatory policy, accelerate economic restructuring and the shift of growth pattern, mobilize the flexibility of market participants so that they can play a greater role in improving the self-adjusting ability of the economy, and vigorously expand domestic demand to promote a basic equilibrium of the balance of payments.
Mr. Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of the PBC and Chairman of the Monetary Policy Committee, chaired the meeting. Other Committee members present at the meeting included Mr. Zhu Zhixin, Mr. Li Yong, Ms. Wu Xiaoling, Mr. Su Ning, Ms. Hu Xiaolian, Mr. Liu Mingkang, Mr. Shang Fulin, Mr. Wu Dingfu, Mr. Jiang Chaoliang and Mr. Fan Gang. Mr. Zhang Ping and Mr. Xie Fuzhan were absent from the meeting on business leaves. Presidents of the PBC Ji nan Branch, Guangzhou Branch and Xi'an Branch also joined the meeting.
