The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) has recently held the 2015 Advanced Workshop for Branch Directors in Zhengzhou, Henan. Following the plans of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council and the spirit of the Workshop of the People's Bank of China with Branch and Sub-branch presidents, participants at this workshop studied and analyzed both domestic and overseas financial and foreign exchange positions, with training and discussions conducted based on the priorities of foreign exchange administration.

Based on the current foreign exchange position, panel discussions on monitoring and analysis of trade in goods, ongoing and ex-post regulation of the capital account, monitoring and warning of cross-border capital flows, and new framework for foreign exchange regulation were held and experts and scholars were invited to give lectures at this workshop. Due to complex and changing economic conditions both at home and abroad, China has witnessed sharper short-term fluctuation of cross-border capital flows but basic equilibrium of supply of and demand for foreign exchange since the beginning of this year, said Yi Gang at the workshop. Foreign exchange authorities have been persistent in pressing ahead with reforms while guarding against risks. To be specific, they deepened the reform of capital account convertibility, further promoted trade and investment facilitation, paid close attention to ongoing and ex-post regulation, and guarded against impacts from cross-border capital flows, thereby improving their capabilities to support economic restructuring, transformation and upgrading.

It was unanimously agreed that since the SAFE proposed the "five shifts" in concepts and approaches of foreign exchange administration in 2009, foreign exchange authorities have achieved tremendous fruits in administration streamlining and power delegation, management transformation, monitoring and warning, and system integration, thereby laying a solid foundation for giving the market a decisive role in allocation of foreign exchange resources. To deliver a good performance in the subsequent reform of foreign exchange administration, Yi Gang stressed that foreign exchange authorities need to adapt to the changes in the foreign exchange position, identify the breakthrough point of the foreign exchange administration reform and continue to enhance the management and service quality based on administration streamlining and power delegation, so as to speed up building a macro-prudential policy framework for foreign exchange administration.

In the next step, Yi Gang proposed that foreign exchange authorities should implement the plans of the CPC Central Committee, the State Council and the CPC Committee of the People's Bank of China, taking a holistic approach to reform and innovation, proactively adapting to the new normal of economic development, pressing ahead with the reforms of administration streamlining and power delegation, combination of deregulation and regulation, and service optimization, and innovating ongoing and ex-post regulation, so as to fully discharge the responsibilities granted by the state. First, continuing to streamline administration and delegate power, deepening the reform in the key areas of foreign exchange administration, and pressing ahead with capital account convertibility to support the development of the real economy. Second, improving monitoring, analysis and warning of cross-border capital flows and reinforcing the basis of data system, while cracking down on foreign exchange irregularities and intensifying risk prevention. Third, further strengthening operation and management of foreign exchange reserves to ensure the security, liquidity and value preservation and growth of foreign exchange reserves. Fourth, intensifying analysis and study, and further enhancing party building in the SAFE offices, cleaning up work styles and upholding integrity, teambuilding and internal management, so as to support the work priorities of foreign exchange administration.