China's central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan arrives at a news conference during the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC), the country's parliament, in Beijing, March 12, 2015. (Photo : REUTERS)
The People's Bank of China will work to make it easier for Chinese investors to invest overseas and foreign residents to invest in China.
This is in line with China's plans to accelerate reform and opening up of its capital market in 2015, aiming to make the yuan convertible on the capital account, said central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan.
The central bank hopes to realize the yuan's capital account convertibility in the final year of the 12th Five-Year Plan.
China is also seeking to reform the prior approval system when residents invest in securities or other financial products overseas.
It will also introduce a series of changes to make it easier for foreign nationals to invest in China's financial products, he said.
China had proposed an overhaul of its foreign investment rules in January. It came up with a draft law that could drastically change the way global companies do business in China.
Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli also emphasized the importance of opening up to the outside world and of exploring new methods to make its economy more open.
China's "Belt and Road" initiative, where it proposes to build the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, as well as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and Silk Road Fund, are some methods included in this opening up, said Zhang.
Lin Yifu, former chief economist and vice president at the World Bank, said that the establishment of the AIIB would be the next step for the state to boost Asia's and the world's economies.
