China has outlined the priorities for its financial sector in the
coming few years, such as improved supervision, more financial
reforms and regulation of the financial system to reduce financial
risk and improve financial services.
The priorities were determined at a three-day national conference
on finance held by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
China (CPC) and the State Council.
Senior Chinese leaders, including Jiang Zemin, Li Peng, Zhu Rongji,
Li Ruihuan, Hu Jintao, Wei Jianxing, Li Lanqing attended the
meeting which concluded in Beijing Thursday.
Addressing the meeting, Jiang, also general secretary of the CPC
Central Committee enlarged on the guiding principles and major
tasks for the financial sector in the future.
During his speech to the meeting, Premier Zhu listed the specific
goals needed to improve financial supervision and regulation,
planned reforms of the state-owned commercial banks and other
priorities.
The meeting called for more effort in dealing with the problems
plaguing the country's financial sector, such as inadequate
supervision and regulation, a lack of sound operational skills in
financial companies and an indifferent sense of social credit,
loose management, a shortage of financial professionals and
insufficient financial services and a lack of new ideas.
The meeting also set out the major targets for the country's
financial sector during the period from 2001-2005, which include
vigorous and efficient supervision and improved regulation, sound
operational methods for financial companies, significant
improvement in asset quality and financial returns, as well as in
financial markets, financial services and corporate
competitiveness.
The meeting stressed the importance of supervision and regulation,
describing them as the most important factors in the financial
sector.
Improved supervision and regulation to reduce risk and maintain
financial stability is the basis for further financial reform and
development, and the way to safeguard national economic security,
the meeting pointed out.
The aim of financial supervision is to ensure open, fair and
orderly competition in the financial markets in accordance with the
law, to prevent systematic risks, and to protect the legitimate
rights and interests of depositors, investors and policyholders,
the meeting noted.
It
called on regulatory bodies from banking, securities and insurance
sectors to raise their standard of supervision through improving
supervision regulations, systems, and means and methods.
The meeting described the wide-ranging reforms of the state-owned
commercial banks as the focal point for the whole financial reform,
because they have been playing a very important role in the
country's economic and social development.
The state-owned banks were called on to improve constitutional
reforms and follow prudent accounting principles and strict
information disclosure systems, to lower their ratios of
non-performing assets, and improve their profitability.
The meeting noted qualified commercial banks solely owned by the
state might be reorganized into share-holding commercial banks in
which the state has the controlling share. The shares may be listed
when the time is right.
The meeting repeated that the policy of regulating and cultivating
the securities market will remain unchanged, adding efforts should
be made to crack down harder on irregularities.
It
also called for the construction of a social credit system,
including corporate and individual credibility.
Senior officials from the Party and the central government and
leading provincial officials and financial officials were among
those attending the meeting.
(Xinhua News
Agency February 8, 2002)