City of London: 13th Five Year Plan to improve competitiveness of China’s financial market

Mr. Mark Boleat is Chairman of the Policy & Resources Committee of the City of London Corporation.

London (ECNS) -- Mark Boleat, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation, pointed out in a column for China News Service that the futher opening up of China's finance system via the 13th Five Year Plan will bring great opportunities for investors.

The 13th Five Year Plan is China's road map of economic and social development for the next five years. It will be finalised this month at the National People's Congress.

It is the first "Five Year Plan" under the "New Normal" and follows several months of market volatility and small but significant currency depreciations. Boleat said that as the world's second-largest economy, a plan for how China will develop would at any time attract worldwide attention, but at this heightened time of interest and as the current G20 leader, the decisions here could have a significant impact on other markets across the world.

Boleat said China's financial system has continued with steady progress towards financial market liberalisation in recent years. Commentators in the UK have witnessed encouraging outcomes that show the government's approach is working. This has been creating opportunities for partnerships between Chinese and international financial sector experts.

The Chinese government plans to continue its focus on growth and restructuring, while at the same time maintaining financial and social stability. To achieve its vision of a "moderately prosperous" society it will try to hit the ambitious target of doubling its 2010 GDP and per capita income of both urban and rural residents by 2020. To turn this into a reality will no doubt take a lot more hard work -- both on a national and local level -- and will need industry-wide support. From China's astonishing progress to date, we have no reason to doubt its capability in achieving these goals, although it would also be short sighted to believe it will be met without solutions to current challenges being found, Boleat added.

He also pointed out that major goals for the next five years also include changing China's growth pattern from an investment, export-led economy to a domestic consumption, services-driven one, leading to slower but healthier growth of economy. Economic transition is never an easy process for any country, especially for such an enormous one and both domestic and international market factors will need to be considered to ensure that China's progress remains on track.

By and large, China's rapidly growing economic, political, and cultural engagement and influence in today's world is both undeniable and to be welcomed, while its development has enormous implications for how the world is governed. Moreover, as the world's largest saver, China has a major role to play in the global financial rebalancing toward emerging markets. This will mean increasingly that decisions made in China's markets will have a bearing on others.

"In an increasingly interconnected world, China is not alone in bearing this responsibility, though we expect it to contribute meaningfully to global growth and stability, recognising that others will want to work with it and emulate its success," Boleat wrote.