PBOC Confident Of 2020 Economic Growth In Spite Of International Disruptions

The People's Bank of China is confident the economy will grow this year in spite of the economic effects of the coronavirus. The PBOC said recorded trends in industry pointed to eventual economic growth for 2020.

The bank is expecting a continued economic recovery throughout the rest of the year, PBOC Gov. Yi Gang said in an interview Sunday. He said industries were now increasing operations to make up for time lost during the first two quarters of the year.

Yi attributed the positive economic outlook to the country's quick and effective pandemic controls. He said China was the only large economy to report expansion in the second quarter.

However, the PBOC warned there may still be some unexpected challenges and difficulties. These include handling the continued pressure on small- to medium-sized enterprises and national employment.

The PBOC will implement measures to address immediate issues such as unemployment and access to funding. These include monetary policy tools to ensure money supply and aggregate financing to promote small- to medium-sized business activities.

The PBOC will mitigate financial risk, too. It will strengthen the country's emergency response mechanism as a precautionary measure for unforeseen future events.

Yi said China would stick to its previously planned financial changes and opening-up measures which, he said, had been effective. China will push through accelerated share restriction easements in sectors such as insurance, fund management and securities. The PBOC will continue with its efforts to internationalize the country's currency. Yi said cross-border yuan settlements were more than 12.7 trillion yuan during the first half of the year - or up 36.7 percent year on year.

In spite of tensions with the U.S., China will uphold previous commitments including implementation of the previously agreed China-U.S. phase-one trade deal.