Regions involved in the trials of China’s financial reforms must hand in reports to the State Council next year, summarizing their successes and providing valuable information for expanding the reforms nationwide, said Premier Li Keqiang at a State Council executive meeting on Dec 2.
To improve financial support for the real economy, it was decided at the meeting to carry out test runs of financial reforms in several regions.
Financial reform cannot cover all sides, and different regions should focus on different aspects according to their own features, such as the Taizhou pilot zone, in Zhejiang province, which would test the problems facing small and micro businesses, Premier Li said.
He suggested that Jilin’s reform in rural areas should be about the scale operation risks of modern agriculture; Guangdong’s trial in its free trade zone should focus on facilitating investment and further cooperation between the province, Hong Kong and Macao; financial cooperation across the Taiwan Strait would be the focus of Fujian’s pilot free trade zone, and development of financing lease and providing support for equipment exports of large enterprises will be key for Tianjin’s free trade zone.
“We hope the test areas’ successful experience in financial reform could be duplicated and promoted in other regions nationwide with mature conditions,” the Premier said.
He praised the free trade account reform in the Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ), saying the innovation has huge significance for decreasing financing costs and pushing financial reforms in China.
“The free trade account reform is a breakthrough innovation, and it not only drives the financial opening-up, but also strongly supports the real economy, which is also the final goal of China’s financial reform,” said the Premier.
He also encouraged the Shanghai FTZ to be the “ice-breaking boat for expanding opening-up and excavator for deepening reform” during a short trip to the area on Nov 25, after the Fourth China and Central and Eastern European Countries Economic and Trade Forum in Suzhou, Jiangsu province from Nov 24 to 25.
