China to ramp up financial support for real economy

BEIJING - China has rolled out a raft of measures to strengthen its financial support for the real economy, the country's financial authorities said Monday.

The country will ramp up financial support to relieve market entities in difficulties, ensure unimpeded flows in the economy and promote exports, noted a circular jointly released by the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

China will increase financial support for industries, enterprises and people affected by the epidemic, guide financial institutions to expand the scale of loans and make appropriate interest concessions to the real economy, and better deploy inclusive financing for micro and small firms, said the circular.

Financial institutions should address the financing needs of transportation and logistics enterprises and truck drivers, and make reasonable arrangements for loan extension or renewal as appropriate if those entities face difficulties in repaying their loans due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the circular noted.

The country will also expand the pilot project of facilitating forex receipts and payments to the whole country, facilitate Renminbi settlement and raise the efficiency of cross-border use of Renminbi, the circular added.