China's central bank stands firm on combating money laundering

BEIJING - A senior central bank official has stressed the need for increased efforts to combat money laundering. Yin Yong, vice-governor of the People's Bank of China, said authorities should fight money laundering as an important task in "preventing and controlling financial risks and safeguarding financial system security."

China faces a "severe and complicated" situation concerning combating money laundering amid rising financial risks and even more stricter international standards on fighting money laundering, Yin said at a briefing.

He said there should be rigorous efforts to prevent and control money laundering and terrorist financing, and more reform to improve the country's mechanisms to counter money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion.

China's economic performance has been generally stable with better momentum, which will stay unchanged during the rest of the year, said the National Bureau of Statistics spokesperson Mao Shengyong.

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency, the yuan, strengthened for 11 consecutive working days until Sept 11, reinforcing optimism in the real economy.

James Daniel, assistant director of the Asia and Pacific Department of the International Monetary Fund, commended China's reform agenda, noting that overcapacity had been reduced, and the local government borrowing framework improved.

China's economy expanded 6.9 percent in the first half of the year, well above the government's yearly target of 6.5 percent. The economy grew 6.7 percent in 2016.

Those who worry about the state of the Chinese economy can relax, as recent economic indicators suggest the good times are back. Market analysts say that good numbers should emerge as demand in the real economy recovers.

Consumer spending, which contributes over 60 percent of China's growth, have remained stable, according to Zhu Jianfang, chief economist with Citic Securities. Although investment has lost steam in the short term, analysts say it has room to strengthen.

Liang Hong, chief economist with the China International Capital Corporation, said manufacturing investment would rise after more industrial capacity was released on recovering demand.

Progress in the upgrading of consumption and investment will need more manufacturing investment, she added.