engage in competitive devaluation, and will not use the exchange rate as a tool to deal with trade frictions. since the beginning of this year, china has continued to implement proactive fiscal policies, and has adopted a series of measures to ease the burden on market participants. fiscal policies have 2 / 4 bis central bankers'speeches been playing a greater role in expanding domestic demand and promoting structural adjustment. supported by robust external and domestic demand, the hong kong sar economy sustained strong momentum with real gdp expanding by 3. 5 % year - on - year in the second quarter of 2018, marking the seventh quarter of above - trend growth. the labor market tightened further with unemployment rate edging down to 2. 8 %, the lowest level in more than 20 years. overall inflation pressure remained moderate, and underlying consumer price inflation remained unchanged at 2. 4 % in q2 2018. notwithstanding the increased uncertainties in the external environment, domestic demand is expected to remain largely resilient and the hong kong sar economic growth is forecasted to maintain at 3 - 4 % for 2018 as a whole. supported by service exports and private consumption, the macao sar economy grew by 7. 6 percent in the first half of 2018. private consumption increased by 5. 1 percent and the unemployment rate fell to 1. 9 percent while inflation rebounded to 2. 7 percent. the fiscal account continued to record surplus. the macao sar economy is expected to maintain its positive growth trend in 2018 and 2019. iii. reform of the imf the imf should continue to support an open, inclusive, rules - based multilateral trade system. the recent rise of global protectionism highlights the importance of maintaining a strong multilateral trade system. having in place a system of well - designed international rules is in the interest of all countries. china stands ready to enhance cooperation with all parties to support the liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment. countries should jointly take measures against trade protectionism and strive to make economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced and beneficial to all. continued efforts should be made to promote multilateral cooperation and strengthen policy coordination. trade tensions need to be resolved in a rules - based multilateral trade system and in a constructive approach, promoting global trade and investment integration. unilateralism and protectionism will in fact only exacerbate domestic imbalances and undermine the necessary structural adjustments, which will not only have a negative impact on the countries concerned, but also weigh

nfra. securities, funds and insurance companies swap facility ( sfisf ) are now open to financial institutions for application. the policies related to special central bank lending for shares buyback and holdings increase have been officially released today for implementation. 1 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches since it was announced and implemented, the policy package has received positive feedback both at home and abroad. it has vigorously boosted social confidence and played an effective role in promoting stable economic and financial performance. we have taken three main factors into consideration while formulating these policies. first, given the current economic performance, we need to implement strong macro aggregate policies. major problems in the current economic operation, as reflected at the macro level, are insufficient effective demand, weak social expectations and low prices. a common market view is that we need to launch strong macro policies. according to the arrangements of the cpc central committee, the pboc has conducted in - depth researches and prepared policy plans in advance. against this backdrop, the cpc central committee promptly made the decision to launch a package of incremental policies, which reflect its determination to secure the economy, stabilize expectations, boost consumption and benefit people's livelihood. the market responded to the initiative positively. second, the economy still faces some prominent challenges, which are mainly related to the real estate market and the capital market. drawing on international experience and china's practices in the past, we need to unveil targeted policies in response. in terms of the real estate market, the pboc, based on its mandate, has improved four real estate finance - related policies, supporting risk defusing and sound development of the real estate market from a macro - prudential perspective. in terms of the capital market, the pboc, together with the csrc, has developed two instruments to facilitate the stable development of the capital market. the two instruments were designed completely based on market principles, and internationally there had been successful practices. regarding the sfisf, the central bank does not provide fund support for the market directly, so it does not expand the central bank's money supply and base money. the central bank lending for shares buyback and holdings increase is targeted. the credit funds must not enter the stock market in violation of financial regulation. this remains a red line. the two instruments showcase the efforts of the pboc to expand and explore its mandate of maintaining financial stability. we will keep on cooperating with the csrc to gradually improve the