is because we are still a long way off finding solutions for live systems that are suitable for mass use. blockchain technologies still have many hurdles to jump before they can be applied in real life to alleviate large - scale applications. their biggest problem at present seems to be their all too limited scalability. innovation is the driving factor behind growth. however, the practical application of new innovations must not lead to a trade - off between efficiency and security, both of which need to be safeguarded to maintain the architecture of our financial system in the long term. this applies not just to distributed ledger technology and instant payments but also to other innovative fintech solutions. at this stage in developments it is too early to say much about the implications of blockchain technology. this is partly due to the fact that it is not a simple case of one technology replacing another. what we are dealing with here is a new technology whose actual worth probably lies in its capacity to usher in different processes and structures that are broadly more efficient than those in place today. the task of analysing financial market structures consists in identifying the potential and the risks associated with the various technologies that are being used and understanding their impact on market participants ’ behaviour. in future, ever greater priority will be attached to interconnectedness and appreciation of the “ big picture ” as it affects the individual market participant as a means of gauging developments and 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches the risks they entail. on top of this, a solid understanding of market participants as can be garnered from payment and settlement systems, is also useful outside the confines of the actual systems themselves. that is why the direct access to customers afforded by a current account is of such importance to credit institutions. for it allows them to get to know the customer. and the same holds true for central bankers. analyses derived from payment and settlement systems can be of great use in connection with monetary policy, banking supervision and financial stability. the aim of this conference is to bring central bankers and researchers together with a view to discussing changes and challenges in the world of payments deepening our understanding of today ’ s payments landscape forging ahead with innovations in this field. last year, the bundesbank held its first ever academic conference on the topics of payment and securities settlement. that event was a major success. and we hope to expand on that success with this event. in making our invitations this year we teamed up with partners from the united states and we are glad to see

nout wellink : china's rise and its impact on western economies speech by dr a h e m wellink, president of the netherlands bank, on the occasion of the china congress,'the culture of sharing knowledge ', amsterdam, 3 october 2005. * * * thank you for inviting me to this conference organised by the asia house. china is returning to the place it occupied in the world economy hundreds of years ago, when it was a centre of trade and innovation. direct trade relations between the netherlands and china go back to the early 17th century, but it is largely due to the opening of the country in the past decades that china ’ s image as a ‘ mysterious ’ and ‘ inaccessible ’ country has changed radically. china is already one of the leading world economies, yet as in every rapidly developing country, its economic policy faces challenges. in addition, i would like to share my views on china ’ s impact on the european economy. note that while i will focus on china during my talk, we should not forget the other large, asian country – india. the challenges faced by india might be of a slightly different nature, yet it reinforces the points i will make about the economic impact of china on western economies. how important is china now? china dominates newspaper headlines. china ’ s economic growth has averaged almost 10 percent per year over the past two decades, so that during that time its national income has been doubling every 8 years. compare this to the euro area : our last doubling of national income took 30 years. in brief, china ’ s growth represents one of the most sustained and rapid economic transformations seen anywhere in the world economy. and it has led to a significant reduction in poverty levels, too : by some accounts, over half of the reduction in absolute poverty in the world between 1980 and 2000 occurred in china. while the shock itself occurs in china, it is transmitted to the western world. direct effects can occur through trade, leading to more international competition. the term ‘ globalisation ’ is typically used to describe changes in the world economy resulting from dramatically higher international trade. the ratio of worldwide exports to worldwide gdp rose from about 8 percent in 1960 to 27 percent last year. the netherlands imported for almost 15 billion euro goods from china in 2004. this is about 6 percent of total dutch imports. in addition, there are indirect effects. for instance, china ’ s appetite for resources drives up prices for commodities, including – as you may have experienced at gas stations