China’s monetary policy solid, says PBoC governor – Asia Times

China’s monetary policy will stay steady in support of economic growth, Yi Gang, the governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), said at the World Economic Forum’s Davos Agenda virtual meeting on Tuesday.

“We will ensure our policies are consistent and stable, and we will not exit from supporting policy prematurely,” Yi said.

China’s 2021 economic growth will more or less reside in the pre-Covid normal growth range, the governor estimated.

China has rolled out a raft of measures to bolster the epidemic-hit economy. The PBoC injected more than 9 trillion yuan (US$1.5 trillion) of liquidity into the market last year, along with launching targeted policies in support of micro-, small-and-medium-sized businesses, Yi said, adding that the monetary condition was “pretty sound” by the end of the year.

Yi said China’s macro policies will focus on maximizing employment as a stable job market will help drive consumption.

The governor said that China’s monetary policy will continue to prop up the economy while watching out for risks, which refer to an increase in China’s macro leverage ratio, growth in non-performing loans and external risks of capital flow.

Digital currency

Several Chinese cities will expand trials of the digital currency, the digital yuan, according to their tune-setting government work plans for 2021.

Beijing will accelerate the building of innovative demonstration zones for fintech and professional services this year and promote the pilot application of the digital currency, revealed the city’s government work report delivered on Monday.

Ma Xingrui, the governor of South China’s Guangdong province, said in a local government report that authorities will support the development of the city of Shenzhen into an innovative pilot zone for the country’s digital currency.

When delivering a government work report on the same day, Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng said the metropolis will continue its financial opening-up and the promotion of the digital currency’ pilot application.

Company news

China Telecom, a major Chinese carrier, unveiled a cloud 5G smartphone on Tuesday as it works to meet consumers’ growing demand for cost-effective 5G products.

The new 5G smartphone, named Tianyi No 1 2021, comes with a 6.53-inch display and is powered by the Chinese Unisoc Technologies Co T7510 5G chipset.

China Telecom said the phone is part of the company’s broader efforts to promote the development of cloud-network integration. It said the use of cloud mobile phones is inseparable from cloud services. China Telecom’s cloud service capabilities can realize rapid data transfer from phones to the cloud, and provide users with safe and reliable smart cloud services.

Multinational chemical company LyondellBasell signed a joint-venture agreement with China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), China’s largest oil refiner, on Tuesday.

The two parties will set up a 50-50 joint venture company to expand the production of propylene oxide and styrene monomer in China. The joint venture company will build a plant in the city of Ningbo, in east China’s Zhejiang Province, by the end of this year, with an annual output of 275,000 tonnes of propylene oxide and 600,000 tonnes of styrene monomer.

The stories were compiled by Nadeem Xu and KoKo and were first published at ATimesCN.com.