Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China, said Thursday that China's central bank will adopt the financial policy to support and coordinate the opening of China's service sector.

Zhou made the remarks at the World Economic Development Declaration Conference (WEDDC) and the China Business Summit, which opened in this coastal city in south China's Guangdong Province.

Even though China is not yet fully ready to open its financial sector, "We are prone to underestimate the advantage brought by the opening while overestimating the shock and risk," he said.

China's service sector will gradually open up and the opening of the financial sector is one of the major facets of the process, he said.

China's banking sector is still immature with lots of loopholes and problems and the country's capital market and insurance sector remain young, he said, admitting that efforts should be made to enhance preparatory work for the opening and hone its own competitiveness.

The opening of the service sector, including its financial opening, will bring bigger advantages to China's financial sector, to Chinese economy and the world economy based on the timetable of commitments made by the Chinese government to the World Trade Organization," he said.

Zhou said that competition will bring pressure and also vigor and prosperity. Opening will promote exchanges and technical introduction and help effectively distribute resources, he said.

The prosperous development of the export-oriented economy made China and other developing countries experience the advantages of opening up. Certain developing countries have become a major force in favor of trade and investment liberalization, he said.

Zhou also expressed worry about the resurgence of protectionism in some developed countries. "We feel regret that the Cancun meeting did not make progress," he said.

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