China's leading economists gathered at the Chinese Economists 50 Forum in Beijing on Wednesday to discuss the deepening of supply-side reforms and what that means for the Chinese economy.
This year’s annual meeting again touched on supply-side reforms. The meeting focused on property rights, motivation, and supply quality. The vice president of the China Society of Economic Reform -- Fan Gang -- opened the meeting with a review of the work that was accomplished by the forum last year.
"Last year, under the special mechanism of the forum, academic discussions were guided by the principles of project leaders and were conducted very well, especially concerning the difficulties and countermeasures of carrying out deleveraging. That has provided a good reference for deepening supply side reforms," Fan Gang, VP of China Society of Economic Reform, said.
The annual meeting comes just after the People's Bank of China decided to increase lending rates to banks, including a 10-basis point rise in the rate for open-market operations.
Analysts say the rate hikes are flexible tools that China can use to protect against financial risks, curb asset bubbles, and keep the economy humming.
However, some economists said at the meeting that what monetary policies can do to spur the Chinese economy is limited.
"China’s economic growth needs joint efforts from many aspects, including the real economy, and banking operations. Only one element such as monetary policy cannot stabilize the economy," Yang Kaisheng, special adviser of China Banking Regulatory Commission, said.
Experts say that in the mid to long term, supply side reforms will help generate new dynamics for China’s growth.
"Last year’s monetary policies were not strong, but the growth rate was better than expected. The ultimate purpose of the supply-side reforms is to improve the supply quality. And having better quality needs innovation. All these will definitely spur the economy," Chen Dongqi, chief expert with Academy of Microeconomic Research, said.
Experts say that to deepen the structural reforms more, additional effort is needed to protect property. That will pave the way for a better supply quality.
