Xi Jinping: "A 'Strong Yuan' Is Necessary to Build a Financial Powerhouse"

Chinese President Xi Jinping emphasized the construction of a financial powerhouse and called for a stronger yuan.

According to the state-run Xinhua News Agency on the 16th, President Xi attended a special symposium on high-quality financial development held at the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China (National Academy of Governance). At the event, Xi stated that building a "financial powerhouse" requires "a strong currency, central bank, financial institutions, international financial hubs, financial supervision and management, and a team of financial talents."

Major foreign media interpreted Xi's remarks as emphasizing efforts to expand the international use of the Chinese yuan. The yuan surpassed the Japanese yen again in November last year to become the world's fourth-largest settlement currency. From January to September last year, 24% of China's merchandise trade settlements were conducted in yuan.

Xi Jinping, President of China

On the same day, Xi also stressed strict crackdowns for preventing financial risks and strong measures against corruption. He said, "Efforts must be focused on preventing financial risk factors, especially systemic risk factors, and financial supervision must be sharp with teeth and thorns," adding, "The key is for the financial regulatory sector and the industry’s main sectors to clearly define responsibilities and strengthen cooperation."

Xi stated, "Strict law enforcement must be applied at every stage such as market entry, review, and conduct supervision and management, and financial supervision must reach to the very end," further adding, "Each region must fulfill its responsibility for handling risk factors belonging to that region and maintaining stability."

Xi emphasized the importance of the Communist Party of China's concentrated leadership over financial affairs, saying, "The path of financial development with Chinese characteristics follows the objective rules of modern financial development while having distinct features suited to our country's situation, fundamentally differing from Western financial models."