(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-07-30 11:58

Wu Xiaoling, deputy governor of the central bank, said on July 28 that to sharpen China's competitive edge amid globalization, the country should further its financial reform by loosening its grip on financial controls.

China should be challenged to use financial tools in boosting domestic and global resource allocation, said Wu.

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Wang Jian, secretary general of the China Society of Macroeconomics, said China should slow down in opening up its capital market and currency to better protect the domestic market. However, Wu claimed such a policy will not succeed in the long term.

For instance, Wu noted the currencies of two Chinese provincial regions, Taiwan and Hong Kong, are currently interchangeable and therefore it is unrealistic to block capital exchanges in the mainland.

Wu suggested there are two aspects on which China must focus in reforming the financial system: First, more rights should be granted to enterprises, institutional investors, and citizens regarding finance, investment, and innovation; second, regulators should unify regulations and access standards, inform investors of risks, and let them be responsible for future losses.