33 % year on year to 16 trillion yuan, 22 percentage points faster than the average. monetary policy is also focusing on small - and - medium enterprises and vulnerable groups hit by covid. as of end - march, the balance of inclusive lending to mid -, small - and micro - businesses grew 25 % year on year to 21 trillion yuan. recently, the pboc announced 23 policy measures for supporting the real economy, including providing assistance to people hard hit by covid - 19. the accommodative monetary policy helped to ensure a sound economic start in q1 2022. the chinese economy grew by 4. 8 percent in q1 2022, a slight improvement from q4 2021. consumer price index stayed within a moderate range. cpi right now is 1. 1 percent in q1 and producer price index is 8. 7 % recently. price stability is our policy priority. grain production and energy supply are crucial for price stability this year. agricultural production, and the production and import of key energies, such as coal, oil and gas are the focus of financial services. as long as grain production and energy supply remain stable, inflation will be kept within a reasonable range. to sum up, china's monetary policy is accommodative and is in a comfortable range. we also stand ready to support small and medium enterprises with more instruments if needed. so with that outlook, certainly we have accommodative monetary policy supporting our real economy throughout this year. thank you. date of last update apr. 22, 2022

, we can say that the financial system as a whole is restoring its soundness and evolving a forward - looking, more dynamic style of management. to sustain these actions, financial institutions need to upgrade the integrated risk management system, in which various types of complex risks are controlled in a consolidated manner, and construct a framework to deploy capital more efficiently. a draft of the new basel capital accord released at the end of june has adopted a risk - sensitive framework to encourage the upgrading of risk management. in line with this global trend, the bank of japan is working to improve the functioning of financial institutions through on - site examinations and off - site monitoring. price developments while the corporate goods price index, particularly raw materials and intermediate goods, has been rising partly because of higher crude oil prices, the consumer price index ( cpi ) has been on a slight downtrend. a small decline in the cpi is largely due to the unit labor cost reductions in the corporate sector reflecting higher productivity and the restraint on labor costs. thus, the outlook for prices depends on future developments in productivity and wages. three factors underpin the rise in productivity. first, resources are being used more efficiently as a result of the adjustment of excessive capital stock and labor as well as deregulation in a variety of areas, including the labor market. second, progress continues in it and technological innovation. third, as is generally observed during an initial phase of economic recovery, higher utilization of labor and equipment is increasing productivity. while the third factor is cyclical, the first two factors could spur structural changes, raising the potential production capacity of japan ’ s economy. many countries have experienced a situation in which prices do not necessarily increase in tandem with an upturn in economic activity. economists and central bankers have been exploring a plausible explanation of this discrepancy. from the viewpoint of conducting monetary policy, we are carefully monitoring price developments while keeping in mind the following questions. if the recovery continues, will the growth in productivity slow? or, will such growth continue thanks to deregulation and the progress in it? or, will wages rise along with the growth in productivity? in terms of developments in prices over the shorter term, we should pay attention to the effects of higher crude oil prices on the general price level. crude oil prices have been around record - high levels against the background of a rise in global demand and heightened concern about geopolitical risks. we have seen the impact of higher crude oil prices on the domestic corporate goods price