THE central bank will offer more support to the real economy in 2022 to stabilize the country’s economy, Yi Gang, governor of People’s Bank of China (PBOC), said Tuesday.

Faced with falling demand, supply issues and weakening expectation, China’s economy is under short-term downturn pressure and keeping stability is a must, he said, echoing the tone set by the annual Central Economic Work Conference held earlier this month.

The PBOC will ensure the prudent monetary policy is also flexible and appropriate, and keep ample liquidity, Yi said in the interview with Xinhua.

With the average interest rate of corporate loans below 5 percent this year, the lowest ever recorded, the central bank will continue to encourage refinancing to small businesses and increase the quota as necessary, he said.

Moreover, the central bank will issue the first batch of low-cost loans to financing institutions by the end of this year to enable carbon emissions cuts, as a part of PBOC’s task to support carbon neutrality.

In November, the central bank announced new green tools, including offering 60 percent of the loan principal taken out by financial institutions for carbon emission cuts, with a 1.75-percent one-year lending rate.

The move is in line with China’s promises to achieve an emission peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.

The governor also reiterated that financial risks are under control and the market expectation for the property market has been improved.

The shareholders of companies and local authorities should share the responsibility of risk events, he said.

To improve the liquidity of perpetual bonds and support banks’ issuance of the bonds to replenish capital, the central bank said yesterday that it would conduct a central bank bill swap.

The bill swaps, with a three-month tenor, are worth 5 billion yuan (US$785.13 million), the PBOC said in a statement.

(CGTN)