China Handled Asian Crisis Responsibly: French Bank GovernorThe governor of the Bank of France Thursday had high words of praise for China's responsible attitude during the Asian crisis.Jean-Claude Trichet was speaking at the luncheon for the 21st Century Forum sponsored by the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). "China has played a decisive role in helping stabilize the full body of the region, and has gained an immense credit not only in Asia but in the global community as a whole," Trichet said. "I entirely share the sentiment of Premier Zhu Rongji on the role of the prudent monetary policy of the People's Bank of China in that success," he added. As the head of the Bank of France, Trichet also touched on the international financial structure and its evolution, and the economic strength and possibilities for further progress in Europe. He elaborated on the orderly liberalization of capital movement, the question of reserve and debt management, the key issue of transparency, the question of the moral hazards associated with private sector involvement, and finally the choice of the exchange rate regime. The governor expressed his confidence that Europe can expect a long period of economic growth. He said that structural reforms are underway to ensure that strong economic growth will be sustainable, and European firms are restructuring themselves and entering further into the global competition. He said that the European region has adopted a sound macro policy and has embarked on a fairly comprehensive program of structural reforms. "European citizens can be assured that the future of the Euro is that of a strong currency, based on price stability and the strength of the European economy," Trichet noted. |
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