01:49
China's economic growth is expected to return to the normal track after the country optimized the COVID-19 management, Guo Shuqing, party secretary of the central bank said in an interview with Xinhua published on Sunday.
The key to economic recovery and high-quality growth is to convert current total income into consumption as much as possible, said Guo, who is also chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.
To achieve this goal, he pledged to use financial services to increase the income of the people with low and middle incomes and those severely affected by the COVID-19 outbreaks. More financial products should be developed to encourage consumption, such as home and car purchases, he said.
As most of China's enterprises are private companies, Guo said financial institutions will offer equal treatment to all types of enterprises. He also vowed to ensure monetary policy is more favorable towards private firms in order to support effective credit growth and to expand their access to funding.
Internet platforms will be encouraged to pursue healthy development, he said, noting that the rectification of 14 internet platforms that run financial services has almost been completed.
Guo emphasized that China's financial sector has remained stable while keeping risks under control.
Going forward, the financial sector will focus on promoting the healthy development of the property industry, and managing risks associated with small- and medium-sized financial institutions, he said.
In order to address financial risks, Guo highlighted the importance of preemptively addressing and responding to the risk of non-performing assets, defusing the potential debt risks of local governments, and widely regulating financial products and operations.