Chinese Central Bank Governor Hails Party Leadership in New Year Address

(Bloomberg) -- China's central bank did a good job in 2018 thanks in large part to the Communist Party's strong leadership -- that's the key message in People's Bank of China Governor Yi Gang's letter to mark the year's end.

"In the past year, in response to the profound changes in the external environment and the downward pressure on the domestic economy, the PBOC systematically studied and implemented Xi Jinping's Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, firmly implemented the decisions and deployments of the Party's Central Committee and the State Council," Yi wrote in a statement published on the central bank's website on Monday.

It is a ritual for China's ministers to give their new-year letter laden with Communist party jargon to review the past year's achievements and mobilize people for the coming 12 months. This is the first time for Yi to sign off on such a document after taking the post in March. His predecessor Zhou Xiaochuan's letter in 2017 also paid tribute to the party.

Yi also made clear that there will be a working conference at the central bank to plan for 2019, with the guidance of "Xi Jinping's Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the spirit of the Central Economic Work Conference."

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Miao Han in Beijing at mhan22@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jeffrey Black at jblack25@bloomberg.net, Malcolm Scott, Michael Heath

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With assistance from Bloomberg