Editor's note:
The coming 2023 is the first year to fully implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and the year of economic recovery and development after the transition of COVID-19 prevention and control. Looking back on this year, the domestic and international situation has been complex and severe, with increasing challenges and uncertainties. China's economy has withstood external pressure, overcome internal difficulties, comprehensively deepened reform and opening up, increased macroeconomic regulation, focused on expanding domestic demand, optimizing structure, boosting confidence, preventing and resolving risks, and achieved a solid progress in economic recovery and high-quality development. As 2024 approaches, the editorial department of Securities Times has selected the top ten domestic and international financial news for 2023 to entertain readers.
Top 10 Financial News in China in 2023
1. The formation of a new pattern of "one bank, one bureau, one meeting" financial supervision
On March 10th, the first session of the 14th National People's Congress voted to pass the decision on the State Council's institutional reform plan and approved it. The main contents of the plan include: establishing the State Administration for Financial Supervision and Administration, deepening the reform of local financial supervision system, adjusting the China Securities Regulatory Commission to a directly affiliated institution of the State Council, and coordinating the reform of the branches of the People's Bank of China. On May 18th, the State Administration for Financial Supervision and Administration of China was officially listed, marking an important step in the new round of financial regulatory reform. China's financial regulatory framework has officially entered the era of "one bank, one bureau, one meeting".
2. The prevention and control of COVID-19 epidemic in the past three years has shifted to a stage where China's economy has recovered and improved
The Central Economic Work Conference was held in Beijing from December 11th to 12th. According to the meeting, 2023 will be a year of economic recovery and development after the transition of COVID-19 prevention and control. Our country's economy is recovering and improving, and high-quality development is solidly advancing. The meeting requires that next year, we must adhere to the principles of seeking progress while maintaining stability, promoting stability through progress, and implementing policies that are conducive to stabilizing expectations, growth, and employment. We must actively strive to transform our approach, adjust our structure, improve quality, and increase efficiency, continuously consolidating the foundation of stability and improvement.
3. Jointly build the "the Belt and Road" initiative to celebrate the tenth anniversary and achieve fruitful results in high-level opening up
The year 2023 marks the tenth anniversary of the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" initiative. China has signed more than 200 cooperation documents with more than 150 countries and more than 30 international organizations to jointly build the "the Belt and Road", formed more than 3000 cooperation projects, boosted the investment scale of nearly trillion dollars, and created "national landmarks", "livelihood projects" and "cooperation monuments". Looking forward to the next decade, China is willing to work with all parties to further deepen cooperation in jointly building the "the Belt and Road", work together to promote all-round and multi field connectivity, and inject more energy into world peace and development.
4. A series of measures have been introduced to activate the A-share market in the era of comprehensive registration system
On April 10th, the first batch of 10 new shares registered on the main board were collectively listed, marking the beginning of the era of comprehensive registration in China's capital market. In July, the Central Political Bureau meeting proposed to activate the capital market and boost investor confidence. Since August, the China Securities Regulatory Commission has issued a package of policy measures, and the Ministry of Finance has also announced a reduction in securities trading stamp duty. Various policy measures have been implemented one after another, promoting the deepening and implementation of the registration system, boosting investor confidence, and stabilizing the market.
5. The central bank increases its anti cyclical adjustment efforts and continuously lowers reserve requirements and interest rates to promote economic recovery
In 2023, in order to enhance the momentum of economic recovery, the central bank has repeatedly played a leading role in countercyclical adjustment of monetary policy, reducing the reserve requirement ratio twice in March and September, and releasing over 1 trillion yuan of medium - and long-term funds; The policy interest rates were lowered twice in June and August, driving down market interest rates such as loan market quotation rates.
6. The Central Financial Work Conference held its first proposal to accelerate the construction of a strong financial country
The Central Financial Work Conference will be held in Beijing from October 30th to 31st. The meeting emphasized that "finance is the lifeblood of the national economy and an important component of a country's core competitiveness. We need to accelerate the construction of a strong financial country.". The meeting pointed out that we should focus on five major articles: technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance, and digital finance.
Since the beginning of this year, under the unified deployment of the central government, we have comprehensively strengthened financial supervision in an orderly manner, effectively resolved financial system risks, and properly handled some typical cases with high risks and significant impacts.
7. The RMB exchange rate remains basically stable, and cross-border RMB business continues to grow
The execution report of China's monetary policy in the third quarter of 2023 shows that since the beginning of this year, cross-border capital flows have been stable and orderly, the supply and demand in the foreign exchange market have been basically balanced, and the expectation of the RMB exchange rate is generally stable.
In the first three quarters, the total amount of cross-border RMB receipts and payments was 38.9 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 24%. In November, the proportion of the Chinese yuan in global payment transactions rose to 4.6%, becoming the fourth largest currency in international payments.
8. Policies on both supply and demand continue to exert efforts to protect the healthy development of the real estate market
The Central Political Bureau meeting held on July 24th proposed to "adapt to the new situation of significant changes in the supply and demand relationship of China's real estate market, and timely adjust and optimize real estate policies.". A series of optimization and adjustment policies have been introduced, such as "recognizing a house but not a loan", adjusting the interest rate of existing housing loans, reducing the down payment ratio, lowering mortgage loan interest rates, maintaining the stability of key financing channels such as credit, bonds, and equity, supporting the improvement of industry operations, actively and prudently resolving real estate risks, and promoting the stable and healthy development of the real estate market.
9. China's automobile export volume ranks first in the world, with new energy vehicles becoming the main driving force for growth
The latest data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that from January to November this year, the export volume of automobiles was 4.412 million units, a year-on-year increase of 58.4%. Based on this calculation, the annual automobile export volume will leap to the top in the world. New energy vehicles continue to play a major role in growth. In the first 11 months, the export of new energy vehicles reached 1.091 million units, a year-on-year increase of 83.5%.
Since the beginning of this year, China's foreign trade structure has continued to show positive changes, with the "new three types" represented by electric passenger vehicles, lithium batteries, and solar cells becoming a vivid portrayal of the accelerated upgrading of foreign trade.
10. The central government issued an additional 1 trillion yuan of treasury bond to support post disaster recovery and reconstruction
On October 24, the sixth meeting of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress deliberated and passed the proposal of the State Council on increasing the issuance of treasury bond to support post disaster recovery and reconstruction and improving the capacity for disaster prevention, mitigation and relief. This additional issuance of 1 trillion yuan of treasury bond was all arranged for local use through transfer payments, which were all listed as the central fiscal deficit, and the repayment of principal and interest was borne by the central government.
In addition, more than 20 provinces, regions, and cities including Inner Mongolia have successively issued special refinancing bonds, with a cumulative issuance scale exceeding 1.3 trillion yuan. The relevant measures help local governments to prudently resolve debt risks.
Top 10 International Financial News in 2023
1. The successful holding of the APEC meeting injects stabilizers into the world economy
The 30th APEC Leaders' Informal Meeting was held in San Francisco, USA from November 11th to 17th, 2023. The theme of the conference is "Creating a resilient and sustainable future for all", focusing on the long-term prosperity, cooperation, and development of humanity. The China US dollar summit was held in San Francisco, and the meeting achieved multiple results, reaching more than 20 consensuses in political diplomacy, cultural exchanges, global governance, military security, and other fields.
2. A new wave of artificial intelligence sweeping across the world and strengthening security supervision has reached a consensus
Since OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public in November 2022, a new wave of artificial intelligence has swept the world. This year, large technology companies and startups around the world have launched big language models. At the same time, the rapid development of artificial intelligence has also raised concerns, with China, the United States, the European Union, and others introducing policies to strengthen regulation of artificial intelligence.
3. International gold prices hit a historic high, and central banks around the world have sparked a gold buying frenzy
The international gold price has risen strongly. On December 4th, the international gold futures station reached the $2150 per ounce mark, and spot gold rose to a historic high of $2146 per ounce. On the following trading days, gold prices showed a high volatility trend. According to statistics, central banks of various countries purchased approximately 800 tons of gold in the first three quarters of this year, an increase of 14% compared to the same period last year. A recent survey by the World Gold Council also shows that 24% of central banks worldwide plan to continue increasing their gold reserves in the next 12 months.
4. The BRICS Summit is held, and six countries are invited to join the BRICS Cooperation Mechanism
In August 2023, the 15th meeting of BRICS leaders was held in Johannesburg, South Africa. Six new members have been invited to join the BRICS family, including Argentina in Latin America, Egypt and Ethiopia in Africa, as well as Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates in the Middle East. Membership will take effect on January 1, 2024.
The world's first multilateral investment agreement advocated by China has received widespread support
At the General Council of the World Trade Organization held in December, about 120 WTO members, including China, announced that the final text of the Investment Facilitation Agreement for Development has completed legal review and called on all members to follow the necessary procedures as soon as possible to incorporate the agreement into the WTO legal framework. The issue of investment facilitation is the first major issue initiated and led by China in the World Trade Organization and related developing members. After the agreement is reached, it will become the world's first multilateral investment agreement.
6. Continuous regulatory policies have shown significant effects, easing global inflationary pressures
After continuous regulation by major monetary policy making departments in Europe and America, regional inflation has been alleviated, leading to a sustained slowdown in global inflation. The World Economic Outlook released by the International Monetary Fund predicts that global inflation will steadily decline from 8.7% in 2022 to 6.9% in 2023 and 5.8% in 2024.
7. A new round of conflict erupts between Palestine and Israel, leading to increased fluctuations in international commodity prices
Since October, a new round of military conflict has erupted between Palestine and Israel, causing serious humanitarian disasters. The international community has taken numerous positive actions to save lives and restore peace. In addition, conflicts have also led to increased fluctuations in international commodity prices, which has had a negative impact on the global economic recovery.
8. The global automotive industry landscape undergoes significant changes, and China's new energy vehicles overtake on bends
The global new energy vehicle market is showing a significant growth trend, with sales reaching 9.746 million units in the first three quarters, a year-on-year increase of over 38.5%. The surge in exports of new energy vehicles has driven rapid growth in China's automobile exports. In the first 11 months, China surpassed traditional automobile powerhouses such as Japan and Germany to become the world's largest automobile exporter. The rise of new energy vehicles in China has changed the competitive landscape of the global automotive industry.
9. Major central banks suspend interest rate hikes. Multiple stock markets hit historic highs
In the fourth quarter, the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank suspended interest rate hikes, stimulating investors to be optimistic about the stock market. According to incomplete statistics, major stock indices in European, American, and Asian countries such as the United States, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, India, and Indonesia have all reached historic highs this year.
10. Mile's election as President of Argentina draws attention to right-wing economic policies
On December 10th, Mile was officially inaugurated as the President of Argentina. Miley's right-wing economic policy has attracted high attention, including a significant reduction in the official pricing of the peso against the US dollar, halving the number of central government departments, reducing fiscal transfer expenditures to local governments, and reducing subsidies to industries such as transportation and energy. In Europe, the right-wing political power has increased in popularity, with record high voter turnout and gaining power in some countries and regions.
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