China central bank official says too early to talk of financial crisis

BEIJING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Despite recent tumbling in the global financial market in the wake of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, it is still too early to tell if a global financial crisis has arrived, a vice governor of China's central bank said Sunday.

Chen Yulu, vice governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), noted that a global financial crisis, besides causing continued panic market collapse, usually triggers the bankruptcy of key financial institutions and severe damage to the real economy.

Many countries have introduced countermeasures against the market turbulence, and their effects remain to be observed, Chen told a press conference.

Both the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the global economy is a common challenge for all, Chen said, calling on all countries to enhance coordination on macro policies including public health and trade as well as fiscal and financial policies.

Though China's battle against the COVID-19 outbreak has yet to achieve a final victory, the country is doing its best to help the international community contain the pandemic, he said.

The PBOC, for its part, has strengthened policy coordination with international organizations and major central banks while informing central banks of the G20 group and major international financial organizations on the influence of and effective response to the COVID-19 outbreak, he said.

China supports international multilateral platforms and institutions such as the G20 and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to play a positive role in policy coordination and crisis relief, so as to effectively contain the global pandemic and keep the global economy and financial markets stable, said Chen.

Domestically, Chen said China's financial market has withstood the external shocks and remained highly stable, stressing that the Chinese government has ample policy space and tools to deal with the impact.

While participating in international macro-policy coordination, China, as a global financial power, will work to keep the home market stable in accordance with existing principles and policy frameworks, which is the best way to contribute to global financial stability, he said.