The head of China's central bank said Tuesday he hoped domestic consumption could drive the country's economy.

　　In line with that view, People's Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said he would like to see savings channeled into the domestic market.

　　Zhou was speaking at a conference on the development of China's capital markets hosted in part by the U.S. Securities Industry Association.

　　Zhou said China is a high-savings country and its savings rate has been increasing by about 0.5 percent annually.

　　"We hope this kind of momentum won't continue," he said.

　　The PBOC has said it wants domestic consumption to expand, but on the condition that investment growth — which has been excessive in certain sectors — remains under control.

　　Zhou said opening China's capital market would lead to fiercer competition among financial companies, and the building of institutions would accelerate.

　　But at the same time, "certain kinds of negative consequences" could also result from globalization of China's capital market and there are views that acting slowly might be best, he said.

　　"Sometimes, some people argue we should be cautious and act slowly. We have to achieve a balance between these two," he said.