Photographer: Qilai Shen / Bloomberg
Photographer: Qilai Shen / Bloomberg
China appoint two new members to the central bank’s monetary policy committee, just as authorities begin to shift their focus away from stimulus and towards financial risks in the economy.
Cai Fang, a prominent economist at the government-affiliated Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Wang Yiming, former deputy director of the Council of State’s Development Research Center, will join the central bank’s policy-making committee, according to a government statement released Saturday.
Liu Wei and Ma Jun, who have been on the committee since 2018, will step down, according to customary practice seen by experienced members of the panel after three years, according to state media. Liu Shijin, who was one of the three experienced members, will continue in office.
The rearrangement comes as People’s Bank of China prepares to reverse the stimulus of money pumped into the economy hit by last year’s pandemic, with officials worried about rising debt and risks of asset bubbles. The PBOC has said it wants to strike a balance in supporting growth while minimizing financial risks, a pledge that Governor Yi Gang reiterated on Sunday.
The central bank still has a role to play in pumping liquidity into the economy while maintaining the stable debt ratio, Yi said in a speech at the China Development Forum in Beijing. The sustainable ratio “will not only provide a good incentive for economic players, but will help create an environment that is less likely to mitigate financial risks,” he said.
Wang, speaking on Saturday’s panel at the same forum, reaffirmed the government’s stance without a sharp turnaround in macroeconomic policy.
“Given the structural imbalances in the economic recovery, and the fact that small businesses still face challenges, macro policies will maintain the intensity necessary to support the recovery,” he said. He expected the economy to grow at an annual rate of 5% to 5.5% over the next five years, but said detailed forecasts were difficult to provide due to high uncertainty over the outside.
Wang is currently vice president of the China Center for International Economic Exchange, a think tank under the National Development and Reform Commission.
– Supported by John Liu, Yujing Liu, and Tom Hancock