(Yicai Global) Aug. 3 -- The State Administration of Foreign Exchange stressed the need to achieve orderly convertibility of yuan capital accounts and rigorously crack down on illegal foreign exchange activities and crimes in the second half in a teleconference on forex administrative work yesterday.

Activities in the second half will include steadily broadening reform of the forex administration, further opening forex markets, and realizing the convertibility of yuan capital accounts in an orderly manner, while protecting the legal rights and interests of foreign investors.

SAFE will enrich products and tools, include more participants both at home and abroad, and build up an open and competitive forex market. It will also facilitate trade and investment liberalization, support the development of new trade businesses and patterns, and prudently carry out forex management and services for the first China International Import Expo.

It will also aid the Belt and Road Initiative and conduct pilot forex administration reforms like free-trade zones and ports in the second half, it announced on its website.

The regulator will also seek to avert major foreign exchange risks and will rigorously crack down on illegal activities and crimes such as false and fraudulent trading, illegal private banks and forex trading platforms to uphold the market order and protect national economic and financial security. The agency will also ensure the security, liquidity and preserve the value of and increase of foreign exchange reserves to actively serve national strategies.

China's economy maintained its overall stability and grew in the first half, the teleconference noted, with cross-border capital flows stabilized, and supply and demand balanced in the forex market.

Current account revenue and expenditures remained in a rational range, though the external environment is undergoing significant changes, and SAFE is confident of maintaining the smooth operation of the forex market, the teleconference concluded.

Editor: Ben Armour