会议综述

The National Institution for Finance & Development (NIFD) holds its first book club seminar

As a premier national think tank, the NIFD has initiated a book club seminar to be held continuously for its research fellows to keep learning and improving their competence in advising on macroeconomic policy-making. The first book club seminar recommended Modern Money Theory: A Primer on Macroeconomics for Sovereign Monetary Systems by L. Randall Wray. As an entry-level book for modern monetary theory, this book offers an interpretation of macroeconomics from a novel perspective that challenges traditional thinking and reveals how money works in a modern economy. For these reasons, financial practitioners are recommended to read this book in great depth. At the seminar, many NIFD experts made introductory remarks and expressed their personal views on this book’s ideas. Sixty people including experts and academics from research institutes, practitioners from financial institutions and media representatives attended the seminar and took part in discussions. 

NIFD holds International Summit Forum on Inclusive Finance in Beijing

Under the theme of "Role of Digital Inclusive Finance in Promoting the Real Economy," the summit forum invited leaders from Chinese and international financial institutions, as well as experts and business representatives. The forum featured in-depth discussions on the theories, practice and future development of inclusive finance, including two thematic panels respectively on "digital inclusive finance promotes financial innovation" and "fintech serves real economy." By shedding light on the current development of digital inclusive finance and exploring key issues related to its sustainable development, the forum offers a venue for new financial enterprises to present their contributions to inclusive finance and helps build confidence for industry development. 

NIFD releases Report on China’s Leverage Ratio in Q1 2019

The report suggests that China’s economy registered robust performance in Q1 2019, but its macro-leverage ratio spiked once again. The real economy sector also saw its leverage ratio reach a record high of 248.8%, up 5.1 percentage points from 243.7% at the end of 2018. Sector-wise, the leverage ratio of non-financial enterprises rebounded the most, up 3.3 percentage points. Household and government sectors’ leverage ratios also increased significantly, up 1.1 and 0.7 percentage points respectively. Leverage ratio of the financial sector continued to reduce. The report explains that as the increase in China’s leverage ratio in Q1 2019 is mainly attributable to slowing nominal GDP growth due to slowing price growth, growing balance sheet lending by banks, issuance of special local government bonds, as well as seasonal factor, rising leverage ratios correspondingly boosted economic growth. The report believes that in the context of growing internal and external uncertainties and downward pressure on economy, the necessity to bolster growth stability is beyond doubt. How to proceed with structural deleveraging to strike a balance between steady growth and leverage ratio is a stern challenge to policy makers.

Chairman of the NIFD Li Yang: Implementing the strategy of the Yangtze River Delta integration through urban-rural integration

Li Yang considers that as China’s urbanization approaches an end of its current stage or critical mass, urban-rural integration should be a key contributor to the Yangtze River Delta integration. First, integration of factor markets, particularly land factor market, plays the most important role in the Yangtze River Delta integration. Second, the following elements of the financial development strategy for the Yangtze River Delta region should be highlighted: The Yangtze River Delta region should improve division of labor for commercial finance, development finance, policy finance and cooperative finance. In areas of infrastructure construction that cannot be supported by commercial capital, the shortfall should be compensated by the other three types of financial institutions. While non-standard products and services should be standardized as current policy requires, it is nonetheless necessary to develop individualized, differentiated and customized products and services in the long run. Moreover, the Yangtze River Delta region should vigorously develop financial technology to transform China’s financial industry with cutting-edge technology.