. giving play to the role of monetary policy instruments in adjusting both the aggregate and the structure, we launched structural monetary policy instruments to encourage financial institutions to support key areas and weak links in the efforts to maintain stable economic growth and employment based on market principles. at present, the outstanding balance of these instruments is rmb6. 4 trillion, about 15 percent of the size of the pboc's balance sheet, which is generally moderate. we focus on two key areas, namely micro and small businesses ( msbs ) and green development. to support msbs, we began with policies to stabilize employment. since the outbreak of the covid - 19 pandemic in 2020, the pboc has provided in stages rmb300 billion, rmb500 billion and rmb10, 00 billion of central bank lending and discounts, at an increasingly more market - oriented interest rate and with an increasingly wider policy coverage. we have also launched two monetary policy instruments providing direct support for the real economy, which helped msbs to get access to loans. at the end of 2022, the outstanding balance of inclusive msb loans was close to rmb24 trillion, with their interest rates dropping from 6. 3 percent in early 2018 to 4. 9 percent, and over 56 million msbs benefited from this initiative. in order to support green development, in november 2021, the pboc launched carbon 4 / 5 bis - central bankers'speeches emission reduction facility ( cerf ), encouraging financial institutions to lend at preferential interest rates to market entities operating in key areas of carbon emission reduction. the financial institutions that received funds under this facility were required to disclose such information as the emissions reduction and the carbon footprint of projects financed by such loans. we have engaged independent third - party agencies to verify their information disclosure. the cerf helped reduce carbon emissions by 100 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent ( tco2e ) in 2022. generally speaking, chinese modernization means new requirements for the establishment of a modern central banking system. to sum up the tasks involved, the priority is to achieve currency stability and financial stability. the fulfillment of these two tasks helps promote full employment and economic growth. next step, guided by xi jinping thought on socialism with chinese characteristics for a new era, the pboc will resolutely implement the guidelines of the 20th cpc national congress, the central economic work conference as well as the national people's congress ( npc ) and the chinese

the market nature of the financial industry? is financial industry a competitive service industry? in 1990s, according to the 50 articles specified in the third plenary session of the 14th cpc central committee, the policy functions were split from specialized banks and formed independent bodies ; four specialized banks were turned into full service commercial banks in the competitive market. the third plenary session of the 18th cpc central committee has made it clear that the market would play a decisive role in resource allocation, meaning all important functions should adopt a market approach. we have learned the lessons from the global economic crisis that, to prevent financial crisis, we should first guarantee the healthiness of financial institutions, and never tolerate high leverage, low capital adequacy and large chunks of non - performing loans. when an environment is not open and competitive, it tends to tolerate low standards. thus, the attribute of financial service industry as a competitive service industry in the market economy is obvious. according to global experiences, most financial industries are competitive service industries. when foreign banks were first introduced into china, the initial aim was to bring in foreign capital. looking back, domestic commercial banks have learnt a lot from competition, resulting in a series of changes in the financial industry, including product evolution, market building, business models, management experience, and etc. later, competitive joint stock reform and listing have elevated the operation efficiency, asset quality and governance of chinese banks. the entry of foreign - funded banks also exerted reform pressure on domestic policy reform, including accounting standards, supervisory standards, replacing business tax with value - added tax, and etc. for consideration of their own interests, some individuals advocated protecting the financial industry to enable it to grow stronger before opening up the market, and then allowing these banks to participate in international competition. experiences from many countries ( including china ’ s own experience ) show that protection tend to create problems such as laziness, soft financial constraint, rent - seeking, and etc., damage the competitiveness and the industry ’ s development, and the market and institutions end up becoming unhealthy and instable. one example is what happened before and after the asian financial crisis. nowadays, many chinese financial institutions have gone global and adapted to international competition. their risk management, pricing and anti - money - laundering have had gone through substantive changes. today, five chinese financial institutions have become global systemically important financial institutions and operate soundly on a commercial basis with adequate capital. the sound development of china ’ s financial market