People's Bank of China (PBoC) Governor Yi Gang said China has cut the ratio of cash that banks must hold as reserves five times in the past year, in the face of the weakest economic growth in 28 years amid slowing consumption and the trade conflict with Washington. He also revealed that the yuan-dollar exchange rate has been a subject of discussion in trade talks with Washington. While Yi Gang said "There has been an obvious increase in support from financial institutions to small and private business recently,"

PBoC Vice Governor Pan Gongsheng said the central bank has a goal of increasing loans by large commercial banks to small companies by 30% from 2018 -- a target Premier Li Keqiang mentioned in his government work report on Tuesday.

The central bank also appears to be managing investor expectations on the traditionally risk-free bond market, with the Deputy Governor saying it's good to have some defaults. He noted there was an increase in bond defaults last year, but the level is still lower than in most other countries.

(Comment: Chinese officials use the term "56789" to refer to importance of private enterprise. These companies, many of them small, are said to account for 50% of tax revenue, 60% of gross domestic product, 70% of innovation, 80% of urban labor, and 90% of the total number of companies in the country.)