On December 31, 2016, Zhou Xiaochuan, secretary of the CPC Committee and governor of the People's Bank of China (PBC) visited the SAFE Investment Center to show his care for the frontline officials for yearend final accounts, who are committed to the operations and management of foreign exchange reserves, and sent through them his greetings to the workforce of the SAFE and their families. Accompanying him were Pan Gongsheng, member of the CPC Committee and deputy governor of the PBC, and administrator of the SAFE, and Yin Yong, member of the CPC Committee and deputy governor of the PBC, and director of the Investment Center of the SAFE.

On behalf of the CPC Committee of the PBC, Zhou reaffirmed the achievements obtained in the operations and management of foreign exchange reserves. According to him, the year 2016 is the first year of the 13th Five-year Plan period, a year crucial to the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, and also a year to make breakthroughs in pressing ahead with the structural reform. Under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the staff engaged in the operations and management of foreign exchange reserves worked with one mind and one heart and forged ahead. They flexibly responded to the heightened volatilities in the global economic and financial markets, and stably advanced the operation and management efforts, ensuring the security, liquidity and value preservation and increase of assets and making new contributions to serving the national development strategy and safeguarding the economic and financial security.

Zhou stressed that since the year 2017 is a year to advance the 13th Five-year Plan in all respects, the tasks of reform will become heavier and the external environment will be more complex. By following the gist of the 18th CPC National Congress, and the Third, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Plenums of the 18th CPC Central Committee, and the Central Economic Work Conference, the talents devoted to the operations and management of foreign exchange should work hard and make breakthroughs based on the basic function that foreign exchange reserves should safeguard the balance of payments. They should also be precise and down-to-earth to ensure the smooth operations and management of foreign exchange reserves, in a bid to better serve the development of China.