China expands ‘circle of friends’ as overseas investors boost domestic assets

With foreign capital helping to add US$3 trillion in value to Chinese equities in 2025, head of central bank affirms ‘self-determined’ monetary policy

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Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China, and heads of the country’s top financial regulators held a press conference on Monday. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 7:00pm, 22 Sep 2025

China’s top financial officials said the country’s assets have become much more attractive to overseas capital in the past year at a high-profile press conference, adding Beijing would continue to prioritise domestic economic objectives even as interest rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve have created room for looser monetary policy.

Adjustments to China’s monetary policy are “self-determined” and “data-based”, said Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People’s Bank of China, at the conference on Monday.

“Looking forward, we will employ a comprehensive range of monetary policy tools to ensure ample liquidity, based on the performance and evolving conditions of the macroeconomy.”

Pan was joined by heads of the country’s top financial regulatory bodies, including Li Yunze, minister of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and Zhu Hexin, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

While the conference largely focused on the country’s achievements in the financial sector over the past five years with no major short-term policy announcements, its heavyweight line-up drew significant attention from global markets and observers.

Around this time last year, a similar conference with nearly identical personnel unveiled several sweeping economic stimulus measures, including cuts to the reserve requirement ratio, reductions in the mortgage rate for existing housing and new tools to support the stock market, which sparked a sharp rally in domestic exchanges.

Since then, the attractiveness of Chinese assets has significantly increased, Wu said at the conference on Monday.

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