Financial sector to open wider, Goldman Sachs says

An in-depth opening up of the Chinese financial market is expected to be a fundamental part of the country's economic growth strategy in the coming years, Harvey Schwartz, president and co-chief operating officer of The Goldman Sachs Group, said on Wednesday.

The pace and direction of Chinese financial reform after the upcoming 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China are the US financial service giant's primary focus, said Schwartz during his visit to Beijing after meeting Chinese politicians and regulators.

How China will position itself through the reform, measures on liberalizing the capital market, and how to approach the economy, are the key issues the Goldman Sachs executive has shown his interest in.

Schwartz reiterated the firm's long-term commitment to China, as he is confident that a more opened financial environment along with the fast accumulating personal wealth will support its business growth.

"Chinese policymakers well understand that the country needs to liberalize its capital market for efficient flows of capital, both internal and external, to fuel economic growth. As the economy is expanding, people's increasing wealth, mostly in terms of savings, also requires to be better managed," he said.

China is on the way to becoming the largest economy in the world, regardless of how long this takes, he added.

Goldman Sachs plans to continually play a vital role in China, helping companies grow, facilitating the efficiency of the capital market and serving consumers in managing personal finances and wealth.

"We are very excited about China's growth prospects, and we are committed to China as part of our strategy as we have ever been."

China achieved faster than expected first-half economic growth of 6.9 percent, with deepening structural rebalancing reform to transfer the traditional investment-led development pattern into consumption-driven, and the service sector showed stronger growth momentum.

When talking about the global economic development, Schwartz said that in the United States, despite the challenges the Trump administration has in terms of implementing policies, confidence is at a "good" level. The economic recovery in Europe is also relatively stable, as he said.

chenjia@chinadaily.com.cn