Chinese Premier Li Keqiang meets with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, January 22, 2019. Ng Han Guan/Pool via REUTERS
February 20, 2019
BEIJING (Reuters) – China has not and will not change its prudent monetary policy and will not resort to “flood-like” stimulus, Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday.
A cut in banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR) in January reflected ample room for such reductions, Li was quoted in a statement on the government’s website.
Li also said the government needs to deepen reform to resolve long-term problems in the economy.
Financial institutions should offer more credit, especially medium and long term loans to small firms, he said.
Rising bill financing and short-term loans could create potential risks, he added.
China slashed RRR by 100 basis points in January — its fifth cut in the past year – as it looks to reduce the risk of a sharper slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy.
(Reporting by Kevin Yao and Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Kim Coghill)
