China to power modernization drive through financial sector reform: official

BEIJING, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) — China will make further efforts to deepen the reform of its financial sector, aiming to support the country’s modernization endeavors, a Central Finance Commission official has said.
Wang Jiang made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua after the 20th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee’s third plenary session outlined major tasks to deepen reform in the financial sector.
China’s financial sector still faces prominent problems such as financial risks, the relatively low quality and efficiency of financial services, corruption, and relatively weak financial supervision and governance capacities, said Wang, who also works with the Central Financial Work Commission.
To implement the guiding principles of last month’s CPC plenum, efforts should be made to improve the central bank system and the monetary policy transmission mechanism, and work should be done to build a modern financial institution, market, product and services system, he said.
The capital market’s functions related to balancing investment and financing should be improved, the reform of the financial regulatory system should be deepened, and the incentive and constraint mechanisms serving the real economy should be optimized, Wang noted.
The official also called for the promotion of the financial sector’s high-standard opening-up, and strengthening formulation of financial laws and regulations.
He called for efforts to accelerate the construction of a modern financial system with Chinese characteristics, focus on preventing and defusing financial risks, strengthen financial regulation comprehensively, and continue increasing financial support for the real economy through reform.
“We must strike an effective balance between all aspects of reform, coordinate efforts to prevent risks, strengthen regulation, promote development, and strive to achieve the best results,” Wang said. ■