Central bank vows to push ahead with reform (AFP) Updated: 2005-11-18 21:20
China's once deeply conservative central bank will push ahead with reforms
for its exchange rate system, and even promised it would listen to suggestions
of how it can perform the task better.
"We will gradually bring about convertibility of the currency on the capital
account," central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said in an essay published by
Study Times, a newspaper run by the influential Central Party School.
Zhou did not give a specific timetable for the move, which would entail full
convertibility for the Chinese currency.
This is in line with other government officials' comments on the topic ever
since the late-1990s Asian financial crisis, which alerted Beijing to the
perceived dangers of too-speedy reform.
The Chinese currency is freely convertible on the current account for trade
in goods and services. The capital account, covering items such as money
entering the country for investment in the stock market, remains closed.
"The central government will gradually and selectively liberalize controls on
cross-border transactions and achieve full yuan convertibility under the capital
account," Zhou said.
But even after the yuan becomes convertible under the capital account, the
bank "will still impose certain limits on short-term foreign debt and
speculative activity," Zhou said.
Zhou also said in his essay that China will continue to improve its "managed
float system" for its currency.
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