Hu urges revamp of finance system
President Hu Jintao has called for a reform of the international financial system, as well as global efforts to help developing countries cope with the ongoing financial crisis. At the G20 meeting held over the weekend, Hu outlined four areas in need of reform: strengthening international cooperation in financial regulations and improving international regulatory mechanisms; advancing reforms for international financial institutions as well as the representation mechanisms in the decision-making process in international financial organizations; encouraging regional financial cooperation and enhancing the role of a regional assistance funding mechanism; reforming the international currency system and steadily pushing forward a diversification of the international currency regime.
(US President George W. Bush (R) greets Chinese President Hu Jintao at the G20 Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy at the National Building Museum in Washington, November 15, 2008. [Agencies])
Chinese premier calls for support of SMEs
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on Saturday (November 15) outlined a series of proposals for local governments to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).Touring Guangdong, Wen said SMEs would play a crucial role in promoting economic growth, increasing fiscal revenue, providing jobs and maintaining social stability. Measures should include easier access to credit extensions as well as preferential tax policies, and more loans to ensure SMEs grow faster in the fourth quarter. Financing priority should be given to SMEs that met industrial and environmental protection standards.
(Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (R) talks with an assembly line worker during his visit to a medium-sized enterprise in Foshan of south China's Guangdong Province, November 15, 2008. [Xinhua])
Chinese banks warned of bad loans, shrinking profits During a financial forum held in Beijing on Saturday (November 15), China Banking Regulatory Commission Vice-Chairman Jiang Dingzhi said that Chinese banks should be alert to the risks of bad loans and narrowing profit margins amid a worsening global financial crisis and domestic interest rate cuts. Jiang pointed out that the first risk China in likely to face in the coming years is "exported inflation" from developed economies. Jiang also warned that bad loans, especially in the real estate sector, are the second risk that China's banks are confronted with.
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