Yunnan launches financial reforms in border regions

KUNMING -- Southwest China's Yunnan province on Tuesday launched a financial reform initiative in its regions bordering South Asian neighbors.

The launch came six days after the central bank and several other government agencies gave a green light to Yunnan and neighboring Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region piloting financial reforms in their border regions.

The initiative aims at promoting the regional circulation of the RMB Chinese currency and boosting trade facilitation to push for new breakthroughs in the opening-up campaign in the two bordering regions, according to the general plans on the financial reform drive.

Qin Guangrong, secretary of the Yunnan provincial committee of the Communist Party of China, said the province will seek innovation in RMB cross-border businesses, RMB convertibility under the capital account, multi-tier capital market, trade facilitation, cross-border financial cooperation and local financial regulation.

Qin said the financial reforms and opening up could help promote coordinated regional development and build harmonious and stable regional relations.

The program covers 25 million residents and 220,700 square km of land in nine cities and prefectures in Yunnan.

Yunnan, which borders Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia, plays a key role in the development of the China-ASEAN free trade zone and its cooperation with South Asian countries.

Yunnan's cross-border trade settlements in RMB have exceeded 100 billion yuan ($16.4 billion) since the pilot scheme started in 2010.

In Guangxi, the number has reached 180 billion yuan, helping the region take top spot among the country's eight bordering provinces and regions in terms of trade settlements in the Chinese currency.