Amid 'uneven' recovery, China's central bank urges more lending

China's central bank has called on lenders to boost credit, especially to micro, small and midsize enterprises (MSMEs) in the face of an "unstable and uneven" domestic economic recovery and a "more severe and complex" external environment.

People's Bank of China Gov. Yi Gang told some of the country's biggest lenders that the structure of credit needs to be improved so that more capital is directed to science and technology innovation, green development, MSMEs and sole traders. Interest rates need to come down -- especially for MSMEs -- and banks need to strengthen balance sheets so they can increase lending.