Zhou Xiaochuan, former governor of the People's Bank of China, speaks at the 2019 Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in Boao, Hainan province, on March 27. [Photo/IC]
China has taken concrete steps in market-oriented reforms in line with WTO rules, said Zhou Xiaochuan, former governor of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, on Wednesday.
Since China joined the WTO in 2001, the country has substantially cut government subsidies and tariffs, making the domestic pricing system more compliant with international standards, said Zhou, who is vice-chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia.
In the past, there were a lot of distortions in China's pricing system, so the government had to give subsidies to some enterprises, Zhou said. But such subsidies have been "basically already eliminated" as China's pricing system reforms deepened.
Some subsidies remain in the electricity and natural gas sectors, Zhou said. "But not as many people argue that the Chinese government and banking system have systemic subsidies to support State-owned enterprises. That is no longer the situation."
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