Financial reform efforts should pay more attention to pilot programs at the local level, said Chinese central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan.

In a speech published on the website of the People’s Bank of China on Monday, Zhou said that typical reforms in China usually start in a small region, to allow for a trial-and-error process.

"Due to China’s large scale and complicated conditions in different regions, it’s hard to borrow from international experience, and decision makers cannot make their minds easily, fearing the policies made at the central level might affect some sectors too much,” Zhou said.

Pilot programs are helpful to solve dilemmas, and also to encourage local governments and companies to make their own efforts to take new paths, Zhou said.

"It’s predictable that in the future, reforms first generated at the local level and then moved upwards will be increasingly common,” Zhou added.