Vice premier encourages foreign firms to deepen cooperation with China

Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng recently met with executives from global financial giants such as BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.

During the meetings, He said China welcomes more foreign financial institutions and long-term capital to invest and do business in China, sharing China's development opportunities.

China is further deepening the reform of its financial system and steadily expanding the institutional opening up of the financial sector, providing greater convenience for foreign enterprises operating in the country, the vice premier stressed.

Executives from these financial firms expressed optimism about China's economic and financial market prospects, emphasizing their willingness to deepen their presence in the Chinese market and strengthen economic and trade cooperation.  

These recent meetings send a clear signal that encourages global long-term capital to increase holdings in China and has the effect of stabilizing market expectations, according to CMG financial commentator Liu Ge.

Meanwhile, Chen Hongbin, a researcher at Tsinghua University, highlighted China's appeal for both growth and value investors. As a global leader in innovation and the world's largest manufacturing nation with the most comprehensive industrial system, China presents unmatched opportunities for financial institutions, said Chen.

This year, China's central bank has maintained a supportive monetary policy, implementing measures such as two reserve requirement cuts and three benchmark interest rate reductions. Targeted re-loans totaling 900 billion yuan ($124 billion) have been allocated for technological innovation, affordable housing and small businesses. 

Efforts to stabilize the yuan exchange rate and enhance foreign exchange reserve management have also been prioritized.

Since the beginning of the year, the country's regulators have significantly strengthened countercyclical monetary policies, said Zeng Gang, director of the Shanghai Financial and Development Laboratory. 

Zeng said that these policies have expanded tools for macroeconomic and financial market regulation while supporting the sustainable development of capital markets.

Nankai University's Tian Lihui pointed out that new tools, such as swap facilities and re-loans for stock repurchases, have positively influenced market sentiment and improved social expectations.

China's bond market, now the world's second-largest, continues to attract global capital. By the end of October 2024, foreign institutions held 4.25 trillion yuan ($585 billion) in bonds, with entry facilitated through direct investment, the Bond Connect, or both.

Meanwhile, Wang Lei, deputy director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, emphasized ongoing efforts to support renminbi bond issuance by foreign entities and to streamline exchange management rules, enhancing the appeal of renminbi-denominated assets to global investors.

(With input from Xinhua; Cover via CFP)