Cycle of global quantitative easing coming to an end: Central bank governor

The cycle of global quantitative easing is coming to an end and policymakers should rely more on fiscal policy to stimulate growth, China's central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, said on Sunday.

Zhou warned about over reliance on monetary easing and said that monetary policy is not "a panacea that can cure all kinds of illness".

"The direction is to see the limit (of monetary policy) and to consider very carefully how to get out of the period of monetary easing," Zhou said at a panel discussion at the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan province.

In addition, governments should make a serious assessment of their balance sheets and fiscal position to create more room for fiscal policy, he added.

The central bank governor said that China has flexibility in fiscal policy as the debt level of the central government is not very high, adding that the country needs to streamline the relationship between the central and local governments to ensure fiscal policy fits local conditions.

Zhou saw inflation and asset bubbles as the "unintended consequence" of monetary easing while calling for vigilance to global reflation, although it is too early to tell if there is such a trend.