China says to conduct tight monetary policy in '08
BEIJING, Dec 29 - China's central bank will implement a tight monetary policy in 2008, using a range of tools to keep a check on liquidity, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said in comments published on Saturday.
The People's Bank of China has waged a war on excess liquidity and inflation in 2007, raising interest rates six times and increasing the proportion of deposits that banks must hold in reserve 10 times, to a record level.
Still, annual consumer inflation is running at the quickest pace in over a decade, and many economists are concerned that it could spill over from food into the broader economy.
In a New Year's address to his staff, Zhou said that 2008 would bring fresh challenges.
" step up and improve macroeconomic controls, expand the role of monetary policy in economic controls, carry out a tight monetary policy, make coordinated use of a range of monetary policy tools and use effective measures to step up management over liquidity," he said.
Zhou's comments echo a shift in policy articulated at a recent government economic work conference, at which Beijing said it would move to a "tight" monetary policy from the previously "prudent", or slightly more accomodative, one.
Zhou gave the central bank good marks for 2007, saying it had improved its use of financial and macroeconomic controls and stepped up the effectiveness of monetary policy.
He made no assessment of current economic conditions, including any views on inflation.
Zhou also reiterated the PBOC's long-standing view that it will work to improve the yuan's exchange rate regime, adding that it would seek to better adjust domestic demand and improve the balance of international payments.
China rules out full democracy for Hong Kong by 2012
HONG KONG: China ruled out on Saturday full democracy in Hong Kong by 2012 but flagged universal suffrage for 2017 in a long-awaited decision on democratic reform for the former British colony, officials said.
The decision is likely to upset democrats who had been pushing for 2012 as a deadline for changes in the way the chief executive and the legislature are chosen in the Asian financial hub.
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (China's parliament) released its decision on Saturday after a report on reform was submitted by Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang.
NPCSC decided that direct election of Hong Kong chief executives and the entire legislature "in the year 2012 shall not be implemented by the method of universal suffrage", China's state-run Xinhua news agency said.
Universal suffrage was guaranteed in the "Basic Law" that was established when colonial power Britain handed the territory back to China in 1997, but no timetable was set.
Currently, only half of the 60-member legislature is directly elected, while the rest of the seats are held by representatives of various business and professional groups, mostly loyal to Beijing.
The chief executive, Hong Kong's leader, is chosen by an 800-member committee of mostly Beijing supporters.
China retains the rights to have the final say on any political reforms in the territory.
In his report, Tsang shied away from setting a timetable for reform, but he told a press conference on Saturday that the NPCSC's decision was positive.
Tsang said Saturday's ruling meant one-man-one-vote was possible to elect Hong Kong's leader by 2017 and all Legislative Council members "may be" elected by universal suffrage by 2020.
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China says to conduct tight monetary policy in '08
BEIJING, Dec 29 - China's central bank will implement a tight monetary policy in 2008, using a range of tools to keep a check on liquidity, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said in comments published on Saturday.
The People's Bank of China has waged a war on excess liquidity and inflation in 2007, raising interest rates six times and increasing the proportion of deposits that banks must hold in reserve 10 times, to a record level.
Still, annual consumer inflation is running at the quickest pace in over a decade, and many economists are concerned that it could spill over from food into the broader economy.
In a New Year's address to his staff, Zhou said that 2008 would bring fresh challenges.
" step up and improve macroeconomic controls, expand the role of monetary policy in economic controls, carry out a tight monetary policy, make coordinated use of a range of monetary policy tools and use effective measures to step up management over liquidity," he said.
Zhou's comments echo a shift in policy articulated at a recent government economic work conference, at which Beijing said it would move to a "tight" monetary policy from the previously "prudent", or slightly more accomodative, one.
Zhou gave the central bank good marks for 2007, saying it had improved its use of financial and macroeconomic controls and stepped up the effectiveness of monetary policy.
He made no assessment of current economic conditions, including any views on inflation.
Zhou also reiterated the PBOC's long-standing view that it will work to improve the yuan's exchange rate regime, adding that it would seek to better adjust domestic demand and improve the balance of international payments.
China rules out full democracy for Hong Kong by 2012
HONG KONG: China ruled out on Saturday full democracy in Hong Kong by 2012 but flagged universal suffrage for 2017 in a long-awaited decision on democratic reform for the former British colony, officials said.
The decision is likely to upset democrats who had been pushing for 2012 as a deadline for changes in the way the chief executive and the legislature are chosen in the Asian financial hub.
The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (China's parliament) released its decision on Saturday after a report on reform was submitted by Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang.
NPCSC decided that direct election of Hong Kong chief executives and the entire legislature "in the year 2012 shall not be implemented by the method of universal suffrage", China's state-run Xinhua news agency said.
Universal suffrage was guaranteed in the "Basic Law" that was established when colonial power Britain handed the territory back to China in 1997, but no timetable was set.
Currently, only half of the 60-member legislature is directly elected, while the rest of the seats are held by representatives of various business and professional groups, mostly loyal to Beijing.
The chief executive, Hong Kong's leader, is chosen by an 800-member committee of mostly Beijing supporters.
China retains the rights to have the final say on any political reforms in the territory.
In his report, Tsang shied away from setting a timetable for reform, but he told a press conference on Saturday that the NPCSC's decision was positive.
Tsang said Saturday's ruling meant one-man-one-vote was possible to elect Hong Kong's leader by 2017 and all Legislative Council members "may be" elected by universal suffrage by 2020.
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