China encourages healthy growth of Internet finance

BEIJING - China will continue to support the development of Internet finance amid a moderate government regulation, Pan Gongsheng, vice-president of the People's Bank of China, said on Wednesday.

The central bank is considering issuing a guideline, in cooperation with other financial watchdogs, on Internet finance centered on openness and inclusiveness, Pan said.

Online financing holds a promising future, he said, adding national encouragement for online financing has been explicitly presented in the 2014 central government work report at the legislative session in March.

If used right, it can play a very active role in promoting the country's real economy, Pan said.

But he also warned of the potential risks for online finance, calling self-regulation a duty among practitioners.

The finance industry is a high risk area, Pan said. The problems are usually elusive and contagious, and often break out suddenly, plaguing itself and other economic entities.

Internet finance companies should strengthen legal awareness and actively safeguard a fair and transparent market environment, Pan said.

The regulators will also carry out regular exchanges of ideas so as to make the regulations more feasible and keep a dynamic pace with the fast changing practices of online financing, Pan added.