Promote the Foreign Exchange Administration of General Affairs by...

Title:Promote the Foreign Exchange Administration of General Affairs by Focusing on the Central Task of Economic Development and Serving the Overall Interests of the Country
 

YANG Jun

Director-General of SAFE’s General Affairs Department (Policy and Regulation Department)

China Forex: The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) proposed to promote high-standard opening up and steadily push for institutional opening up regarding rules，regulations，management，and standards. Could you share with us about the efforts made by the General Affairs Department (Policy and Regulation Department) in 2022 to promote the institutionalization of the rule of law in foreign exchange and optimize the business environment? In the next step，what are the objectives?

YANG Jun: The General Affairs Department (Policy and Regulation Department) thoroughly studied Xi Jinping thought on the rule of law in 2022，and firmly grasped the goals and tasks of comprehensive advancement of law-based governance proposed by the 20th CPC National Congress. We have fully implemented the work arrangements of the Party Central Committee on comprehensively advancing of law-based governance. On the one hand，we have consolidated the legal foundation in the field of foreign exchange by constructing a legal system for foreign exchange administration. On the other hand，we have done our best to deepen reforms to streamline administration and delegate power，improve regulation，and upgrade services to better serve the high-standard opening-up in the field of foreign exchange.

The establishment of the rule of law in the foreign exchange market will continue to be supported in the next step by the General Affairs Department (Policy and Regulation Department). First，we will expedite the amendment of the Regulations of the Foreign Exchange Administration. Second，we will integrate and revise the regulations on the administration of domestic and overseas foreign exchange accounts and improve the quality of compliance review of regulatory documents. Third，we will advance the administration of the list of administrative licensing items in an orderly manner and upgrade its supporting systems. Fourth，we will actively promote law-based practices，including the implementation of plans to clean up outdated regulations，administrative appeals and responses，publicity and training on the rule of law，self-discipline in business development，and the organization of case review meetings.

China Forex: Stable expectations are the hard currency of the market economy. News and publicity are essential to stabilizing market confidence. What work has the General Affairs Department done in 2022 to strengthen public information and effectively play the role of communication and transmission of foreign exchange policies? What are the plans for the next step?

YANG Jun: Expectations reflect market players’ views on the future development and changes in the foreign exchange market. Stable expectations are crucial to market participants' foreign exchange trading behavior，and are even more critical to macroeconomic and financial stability. The General Affairs Department adhered to the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability in 2022 and focused on providing stability on six key fronts and security on six key fronts. With the aim of stabilizing the expectations of market participants，we have taken the initiative to enhance public information and guidance on public opinion.

We will study，publicize，and implement the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress in 2023. We will conscientiously organize the interpretation of the foreign exchange situation and policies，promptly respond to market concerns，and make foreign exchange administration services more transparent and standardized to better serve the high-quality development of the real economy. First，we will strengthen the publication and elaboration of the Party’s innovative theory. Specifically，we will set up a special column for studying and implementing the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress，promptly forward General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speeches and authoritative reports，and release the updates and results on the study and implementation of the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress throughout the entire system. Second，we will increase the release of foreign exchange data，give more interpretation，and strengthen communication with market participants. We will also guide the market participants to view changes in the situation objectively and rationally，so that they can actively and appropriately respond to changes by flexibly using exchange rate hedging tools. Third，we will vigorously promote the publicity and elaboration of foreign exchange policies. We will further popularize foreign exchange knowledge，organize system-wide responses to foreign exchange business inquiries promptly，and ensure that people are fully informed，and enjoy foreign exchange facilitation policies. Fourth，we will make innovations based on tradition. We will apply more new media forms，including highlighting，diagrams，and short videos. Furthermore，in order to enhance the popularity，practicability，and transmissibility of the relevant policy publicity，we will use cases，questions and answers，and tips to publicize foreign exchange situations and policies.

China Forex: How has the General Affairs Department (Policy and Regulation Department) strengthened its investigation and research in 2022 as the staff assistant of the SAFE leaders?Which tasks are being planned for the next step?

YANG Jun: General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the General Office should be a staff assistant in leadership decision-making. The General Affairs Department continued to improve its political stance in 2022，while focusing on significant issues of foreign exchange administration，and earnestly performing its duties. We conducted prospective and fundamental research while adhering to systemic thinking，and we actively provided recommendations and suggestions. First，we kept abreast of international economic and financial trends，reported first-hand information as soon as possible，and actively provided reference for the decision-making and arrangements of the Party Central Committee and the State Council. In addition，we have strengthened situation analysis，study，and assessment. We completed the information report by focusing on global cross-border capital flows，changes in the monetary policies of major central banks around the world，domestic and overseas foreign exchange market trends，the balance of payments，exchange rate trends of major global currencies，etc. Moreover，we conducted forward-looking research on a high-standard capital account opening，providing advice and suggestions for relevant reforms and serving as a staff assistant for scientific decision-making of the SAFE’s leading Party group. We also attach great importance to ease the burden on enterprises. Through an extensive investigation of challenges in conducting foreign exchange business for micro，small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)，we provided references for optimizing foreign exchange services for MSMEs. Lastly，we carried out international comparative research and timely sorted out the policy frameworks of international organizations，such as the IMF and OECD，on the supervision of cross-border capital flows and the changes in measures taken by different countries to manage cross-border capital flows.

In the next step，the General Affairs Department will focus on studying and implementing the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress. Focusing on major issues such as building a new development pattern and promoting high-standard opening-up，we will conduct in-depth international and domestic investigations and research to provide scientific decision-making reference for the high-quality development of foreign exchange administration and better serve the real economy.