BEIJING, March 3 (Xinhua) -- China is seeking more channels to use its
massive foreign exchange reserves, which are expected to continue growing after
it quintupled in the past five years, said some financial experts before the
annual session of the country's top political advisory body that opens Saturday
afternoon.
Contrary to its past policies, the country is implementing stricter
regulation on incoming foreign exchanges and loosening rigid controls on
outgoing reserves, said Huang Zemin, a member of the National Committee of the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and head of the
International Finance Institute of East China Normal University.
The foreign exchange reserves reached 1.066 trillion U.S. dollars at the
end of 2006, up from 212.2 billion dollars at the end of 2001, according to the
People's Bank of China.
The advisor said the country is seeking more channels to ease the pressure
generated by rising foreign reserves, allowing businesses to keep a larger share
of their foreign income and encouraging overseas financial investment in the
form of qualified domestic institutional investors (QDII).
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) granted 15 banks
overseas investment quotas totaling 13.4 billion U.S. dollars in 2006.
Meanwhile, 15 insurance companies were granted overseas investment quotas of
5.17 billion U.S. dollars and one fund management company was given a quota of
500 million U.S. dollars.
The Chinese government should make use of its foreign reserves and play a
more active role in world economy, said CPPCC National Committee member Guo
Guoqing, a professor with the Renmin University of China based in Beijing.
Guo suggested China use part of its trade surplus to import technologies
and resources.
More than 2,200 CPPCC National Committee members are expected to gather for
the Fifth Session of the 10th CPPCC National Committee that will last 12
days.