China's Central Bank Vows to Boost Economy Through Balanced Growth and Monetary Policies

China's central bank says it will seize on recent momentum in the economy and better leverage monetary policies to boost demand and confidence.

Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), made the remarks at a two-day meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee in Marrakech, Morocco that ended on Saturday.

He said the country would focus more on striking a better balance between economic growth and sustainability, according to a PBOC statement.

"In the process of transforming the economic growth model, more attention will be paid to consumption, innovation, green growth and related new infrastructure," said Pan, who is also head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

"On the basis of maintaining a reasonable growth rate, we will actively promote high-quality and sustainable development."

Pan said there were more bright spots in China's economic development recently and business sentiment was better.

He also told the meeting that youth employment had seen significant improvement, according to Chinese news site The Paper.

Beijing stopped releasing monthly youth unemployment data in August after it reached record highs, citing the need to improve and optimise labour-force survey statistics. The last release was in June, when the jobless rate had reached 21.3 per cent for the 16-24 age group.

The move sparked widespread concern over the country's bumpy post-Covid economic recovery amid other disappointing second quarter data.

The economy has shown signs of stabilising since August as industrial production and service activity picked up amid rounds of government stimulus, but data for the property sector - the single biggest contributor to the country's economy - has not shown any meaningful improvement.

Beijing is due to release economic figures for September and the third quarter on Wednesday. On Friday, Premier Li Qiang told a symposium attended by economists and entrepreneurs in Beijing that China's economy had sustained recovery momentum since the third quarter, laying a solid foundation to achieve the annual development target of around 5 per cent.

"At the same time, we must also be clearly aware of the difficulties and challenges ahead," Li said, according to official news agency Xinhua.

"The external environment has become more complex and severe. Our country is in a critical period of economic recovery and industrial transformation and upgrading.

"We must strengthen confidence, implement precise policies, and respond calmly."

During the International Monetary Fund meeting in Marrakech, Pan vowed to provide stronger support for the real economy and use policy tools to accelerate a "virtuous economic cycle."

He said China would unswervingly adhere to reform and opening up and optimise the development environment for the private sector, which has played a key role in new energy, electric vehicles, and semiconductors - areas that are seen as growth drivers.

The central bank chief also said Beijing would make greater efforts to stabilize and improve foreign trade and attract overseas investment.

"We are confident and capable of promoting sustained and healthy economic development and injecting more new momentum into global economic recovery and sustainable development," he said.

By fLEXI tEAM