China to accelerate opening up of capital market

BEIJING -- China will continue to support the inclusion of the RMB in the IMF Special Drawing Right (SDR) basket and push ahead with capital account liberalization and the internationalization of RMB, according to a proposal unveiled Tuesday.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee's "Proposal on Formulating the Thirteenth Five-year Plan (2016-2020) on National Economic and Social Development," was adopted at the Fifth Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, which ended Oct. 29.

China will gradually make the Chinese yuan convertible on the capital account and further expand the investment quota for qualified foreign institutional investors (QFIIs), said the proposal.

The "negative list" model, which states sectors and businesses that are off limits to foreign investment, will be adopted nationwide in the next five years. This will help ensure the protection of foreign investors' rights and better allocate their money.

The proposal pledged further opening-up of the service sector, including banking, insurance, securities and nursing homes, to foreign investment. Mutual agreement on exempting visa requirements and bilateral investment treaties will be promoted with more countries.

The 13th Five-year Plan, the first under the leadership of President Xi Jinping, came as the world's second largest economy is adjusting to the "new normal" mode of growth. The economy expanded 6.9 percent year on year in the third quarter of 2015, the lowest reading since the second qcuarter of 2009.