The People's Bank of China is taking a crucial role in shoring up economic growth, as China's fiscal stimulus will be lighter this year. The US Fed's tightening cycle is putting pressure on Asian currencies like the Chinese yuan. CGTN's Xia Cheng finds out the central bank's top concerns from its press conference on the sidelines of the NPC sessions.

China's money supply has posted single-digit growth in February for the tenth straight month, raising questions about the central bank's liquidity support.

In a news briefing during the NPC sessions, PBOC governor Zhou Xiaochuan explained why.

ZHOU XIAOCHUAN GOVERNOR, THE PEOPLE'S BANK OF CHINA "The M2 is not a very accurate measure for monetary policy. The evaluation of monetary policy should be based more on indices like inflation rate and employment rate."

XIA CHENG BEIJING "For the first time in nine years, China does give specific targets on the growth of money supply. It would be crucial for the central bank to provide short-term economic stimulus while maintaining the neutral and stable monetary policy."

Yet financial risks will persist, and the central bank governor has been warning against them. But for now, Zhou said the overall leverage in the economy has been reduced.

ZHOU XIAOCHUAN GOVERNOR, THE PEOPLE'S BANK OF CHINA "China has eased the growth of debt. We are now stabilizing the leverage level. The broad M2 money supply growth is now slower than the nominal GDP growth. Some shadow banking businesses have been reduced and turned into normal bank lending."

The US Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates at least 2 to 3 times in 2018. That is putting more pressure on the Chinese yuan as dollar assets become more attractive.

China's foreign exchange reserves fell for the first time in 13 months in February. But the central bank's vice governor Pan Gongsheng said the country's forex reserves will be stable in the long-term.

PAN GONGSHENG DEPUTY GOVERNOR, THE PEOPLE'S BANK OF CHINA DIRECTOR, THE STATE ADMINISTRATION OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE "In February, the US dollar index gained 1.7 percent, foreign asset prices dropped, including bonds and equities in the US, the eurozone and Japan. That's why our foreign exchange reserves shrank. But China's economic fundamentals are solid, the yuan's exchange rate is steady, meaning the foreign exchange reserves will be stable as well."

Financial stability is a top priority for China's leadership. But is the focus on taming risks cooling down the momentum of reform and innovation?

ZHOU XIAOCHUAN GOVERNOR, THE PEOPLE'S BANK OF CHINA "The financial industry is about managing risks. When risks are managed well, the industry serves the real economy well and gives room for innovation and reforms. Risk control and reform don't work against each other."

YI GANG DEPUTY GOVERNOR, THE PEOPLE'S BANK OF CHINA "We've loosened or removed share holding limits on foreign capital. This shows domestic and foreign capital are treated equally. But this does not mean loosening our regulations. When foreign financial institutions enter into or operate in China, they still have to follow respected rules and laws and become the subject of our regulation."

The Central Bank says the opening up of China's capital account is underway. But the pace will only be gradual to guard the financial system against external risks. On virtual currency assets, the central bank continues to sound cautious and Will put up strict regulation on the sector before the blockchain technology evolves. XC, CGTN, Beijing.