Finance Minister unperturbed at growing bad loans

Minister of Finance Lou Jiwei gives a press conference at the press center of the two sessions, March 7, 2016, Beijing. [Feng Yongbin/chinadaily.com.cn]

The number of bad bank loans is increasing, but China has the ability to resolve the issue, Lou Jiwei, China's Minister of Finance, said at the 4th session of the 12th National People's Congress in Beijing.

"The Chinese government's assistance to these banks is not for the implementation of particular industrial policies ... but for an overall consideration for the fitness of the Chinese economy. In this sense, the rise of bad loans is not a disturbing problem for me," Lou said.

After the 2008 international financial crisis, many countries' structural economic problems were exposed, and their nonperforming loan ratio rose as well, Lou said.

Many handled the challenges through market means and government assistance to key financial entities. The US government took some unusual measures to prop up the financial agencies that were of systemic importance to the economy, allowing them to overcome temporary difficulties, while continuing to support economic development and play their normal roles, he said.

"China is at a different development stage from the US. They are dealing with a crisis, and we are facing downward pressure. China's economy still is growing at mid and high speed. China has its own conditions to resolve its own issues," Lou said.

"All of China's large banks are listed, and they face an open market. The Chinese government shares the same concerns about them with their shareholders".