Chinese yuan to be stable in 2017: central bank governor

Chinese currency, the yuan, will "automatically" stabilize this year amid a firming economy and global confidence in the country's growth prospects, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said Friday.

"There will not be big changes in central bank policies in 2017, and we will have more detailed work on policy implementation and supervision," Zhou said at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary session.[Special coverage]

He also noted unpredictability in the foreign exchange market due to uncertainties both at home and abroad, saying fluctuations will be normal.

Zhou attributed yuan's exchange rate fluctuations in the latter half of last year to outbound investment and forex spending, which he said were bigger than past years.

Surge in U.S. dollar value following "unexpected" changes in the wake of U.S. presidential election was also partly to blame, he added.

The Chinese currency weakened more than 6 percent against the U.S. dollar last year, but had remained relatively stable against a basket of other currencies.

In response to a question on the interest rate differential between China and the United States, Zhou said the rate changes will not necessarily lead to notable and persistent capital flows over the medium and long term, although there might be speculative activities in the short term.

In the government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang, China pledged to continue market-oriented reform in the RMB exchange rate mechanism and maintain the currency's stable position in the global monetary system.

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China to take steady steps in opening bond market: central bank

China will further open its bond market to foreign investors in a step-by-step manner along with the internationalization of RMB, central bank officials said here Friday.

China's bond market has always been open to foreign investors, and the progress made in the internalization of RMB last year has particularly boosted foreign investors' interest, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan told a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing annual legislative session

No need to over-interpret each open market operation: central bank governor

China is implementing a "prudent and neutral" monetary policy, and there is no need to over-interpret each open market operation and price changes in those operations, the country's central bank governor said Friday.

"We use the monetary policy tools we possess to guide market prices and expectations," Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary session.

Policy guidance for outbound investment necessary: central bank governor

China's central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan on Friday defended the country's policy guidance for overseas investment, saying the move is necessary to rein in the irrational tendency in some sectors.

At a press conference on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary session, Zhou said the country is seeing overheated and hasty outbound investment in industries such as sports and entertainment, which does little good to China's economy and is not welcomed abroad either.

China's overall leverage level 'not very high': central bank

China's overall leverage level is "not very high", central bank officials said here Friday, while voicing concerns over excessive corporate debt level.

Leverage ratio of non-financial corporations is relatively high by global standard, Yi Gang, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), told a press conference on the sidelines of the annual legislative session.

China's forex reserve decline normal: central bank governor

The dropping trend in China's foreign exchange reserve is a normal phenomenon, the country's central bank chief said Friday.

"China does not want that much forex reserve," Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual parliamentary session.