We have rung out the 20th century and just rung in the new 21st, a conjunction of two millennia, together with the peoples throughout the world.

For our part, we find it happy to recall the past course of advance we have traveled and magnificent successes we have achieved in developing the finance work of our People's Republic in the past five decades. Reform and opening to the outside over the last 20 years have helped us with many a varied institutional, operational and macro control setups of finance initially developed to meet the demand for a socialist market economy in China. Financial work has come to play a great role now in macro economic control in advancing our economy, thereby a raise of the status of the country's financial work in international finance.

Financial globalization and an integration of world economies have obviously been accelerated, without doubt. Though a reform of the world financial system is badly needed the world economy has already been on the rise. With this is also a fine spectacle being presented for the Chinese economy since the country has achieved much success in talks on its access to the WTO. Our financial departments should try their best to fully put into practice the various policies, measures and goals as have been made available by the central authorities for doing a good job of the country's financial work in the new year. They must see to it that a greater monetary role is to be played toward a raise of the managerial level of finance and for new social economic advances to be made in China. To be in short, this is as demanded in the following:

One, by a greater monetary role is meant to translate into practice all new economic targets set. By greater efforts are to put into practice various financial policies promulgated by the state. Direct fund raising is to be developed when increased loans are issued. Also, support will be provided for reform efforts by enterprises for development and the great cause in opening up the western part of China. Two, things make mandatory for us in China to see to it that new institutional setup of finance be created, financial management strengthened and greater financial market force achieved in international competition. Multi-channel fund raising by shareholding commercial banks, an increased number of exclusively foreign-run banks and agent banking business must be encouraged. Meanwhile, managerial breakthrough should be made by credit cooperatives in their business operation. Three, strengthened financial supervision is to be enforced when financial safety is guaranteed by law. Four, with positive efforts made and financial operations carried out in greater transparency improved financial environment is to be created. And lastly make sure foreign reserve management be strengthened to guarantee balanced international revenue and expenditure and stable exchange rates enjoyed by our Reminbi currency. (By Dai Xianglong, governor of the People's Bank of China)