China's financial sector has much room for opening up: central bank governor

BEIJING - China's financial sector has plenty of room for further opening up compared to the requirements of the country's economic and financial development, Yi Gang, governor of the People's Bank of China, said Tuesday.

While addressing the 2018 Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum held in Beijing, Yi laid out principles to follow in expanding the opening-up of the financial sector.

The model of pre-establishment national treatment with a negative list should be adopted, Yi said, adding that the country encourages both domestic and overseas businesses to tap into the market as long as they can improve financial services. "All market entities will be treated the same."

Yi said the opening-up of the financial sector should go together with the reform in exchange rate formation mechanism and the process of advancing capital account convertibility.

China's currency formation mechanism and the entire financial sector can achieve coordinated development only when capital account items are basically convertible and the financial sector opens in both ways, he said.

"In the process of opening up, China should also pay close attention to risk control, and make sure that the country's financial oversight and regulatory capabilities are in line with the level of opening up," Yi said.