Finance is the core of modern economy. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Jinping Xi as the core, China has steadfastly taken the path of financial development with Chinese characteristics and continued to promote high-quality development of the financial industry.

Guided by the Jinping Xi economic ideology, various regions and departments continue to deepen the structural reform of the financial supply side, steadily expand financial openness, coordinate development and security, firmly hold the bottom line of avoiding systemic risks, and work together to promote the steady progress of China's financial reform and development cause.

Significant improvement in the quality and efficiency of financial support for the real economy

Finance is the lifeblood of the real economy, and serving the real economy is the bounden duty of finance. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the financial sector in China has deepened its understanding of the essence and laws of finance, taking serving the real economy as the foundation of the financial industry, and the quality and efficiency of financial services to the real economy have continuously improved.

The virtuous cycle between finance and the real economy is gradually forming——

With the world's largest banking system and the second largest insurance, stock, and bond markets, inclusive finance is at the forefront of the world. China's financial system provides strong support for the long-term stable and healthy development of the economy and society.

According to data from the People's Bank of China, the balance of RMB loans issued to the real economy has increased from 81.43 trillion yuan in 2014 to over 230 trillion yuan in September 2023, with an average annual growth rate of over 10%, which is basically in line with the nominal GDP growth rate.

Direct financing channels are also constantly being opened up. From less than 30 trillion yuan in 2012 to more than 150 trillion yuan of custody balance today, China's bond market continues to grow. Among the over 5200 A-share listed companies, nearly 2900 are listed in strategic emerging industries, empowering high-quality development of the real economy, "said Sun Nianrui, Vice President of the China Association of Listed Companies.

Continuously strengthening financial services in key areas and weak links——

In recent years, the financial sector has continuously increased its support for manufacturing, technological innovation, small and micro enterprises, rural revitalization, green development, and other fields, promoting the tilt of financial resources towards key areas and weak links.

According to data from the financial management department, as of the end of September this year, the balance of inclusive small and micro loans reached 28.74 trillion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of about 25% in the past five years; The balance of green loans, manufacturing medium and long-term loans, "specialized, refined, and new" small and medium-sized enterprise loans, and agricultural loans increased by 36.8%, 38.2%, 18.6%, and 15.1% year-on-year, respectively, far higher than the growth rate of various loans.

Serving high-quality economic development, adjusting and improving the structural monetary policy tool system, and playing a positive role in stimulating and guiding financial institutions to optimize the allocation of credit resources, "said Zou Lan, Director of the Monetary Policy Department of the People's Bank of China.

The financing costs of physical enterprises continue to decline——

In recent years, the formation and transmission mechanism of market-oriented interest rates have become increasingly perfect, and the effectiveness of the loan market quoted rate (LPR) reform has been continuously demonstrated. The efficiency of monetary policy transmission has gradually improved, promoting a significant decrease in social financing costs.

The weighted average interest rate for new loans issued by Chinese enterprises in September was 3.85%, 14 basis points lower than the same period last year and at a historical low.

Effectively preventing and resolving financial risks

Financial security is an important component of national security. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has coordinated financial development and security, resolutely fought the battle to prevent and resolve major financial risks, and achieved important results in preventing and resolving financial risks.

The momentum of financial assets shifting from real to virtual has been reversed——

To carry out special governance measures for market chaos in response to phenomena such as fund idle and arbitrage; Fully implementing new asset management regulations... In recent years, the financial management department has resolutely cleaned up activities such as deleveraging from real to virtual, and indiscriminately adding leverage, resulting in a drop of approximately 30 trillion yuan in the scale of credit shadow banks compared to historical peaks. In the past few years, there has been a significant increase in the flow of funds to the real economy.

Steady progress in the reform of small and medium-sized financial institutions to ensure insurance coverage——

Recently, Liaoning Rural Commercial Bank has been approved for opening, and Shanxi Rural Commercial Union Bank and Henan Rural Commercial Union Bank have been approved for establishment. Important measures have been taken to steadily promote the reform of small and medium-sized financial institutions into insurance in China.

Institutional integration, equity restructuring, market exit... In recent years, China has solidly promoted the reform of small and medium-sized financial institutions into insurance, and some reformed and restructured institutions are gradually restoring their hematopoietic function and achieving stable operation.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the People's Bank of China completed the rating of 4368 banking and financial institutions. The results show that the number of high-risk institutions is nearly half of the peak pressure drop. There are no high-risk institutions within the jurisdiction of 10 provinces and cities.

The basic realization of social and financial order from chaos to governance——

Strict crackdown on illegal and irregular financial activities, the "Regulations on the Prevention and Disposal of Illegal Fundraising" have been introduced, and a comprehensive governance pattern of illegal fundraising is being formed, which involves joint management, collective prevention and governance, each fulfilling their responsibilities, and working together. The number, amount, and number of new cases of illegal fundraising in China have been decreasing for many consecutive years. We will deepen the special rectification work for P2P online lending, and all P2P online lending institutions will cease operations.

Multiple financial policies promote stable development of the real estate market——

In recent years, the real estate market in China has undergone adjustments due to multiple factors. Promoting the stable development of the real estate market has become an important task in effectively preventing and resolving major economic and financial risks.

Cooperating with the launch of a special loan for guaranteed delivery of 350 billion yuan, the establishment of a support plan for guaranteed delivery of 200 billion yuan, the establishment of a support plan for rental housing loans of 100 billion yuan, the reasonable optimization of down payment ratios and loan interest rate requirements, and the prudent reduction of interest rates on existing first home loans... The financial "combination punch" has been launched to promote the stable and healthy development of the real estate market.

To prevent and resolve financial risks, it is not only necessary to focus on key areas, but also to establish and improve long-term mechanisms.

Starting from rectifying shareholder equity, strengthening corporate governance of financial institutions; Introduce the "Trial Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Financial Holding Companies", "Measures for the Evaluation of Systemic Importance Banks", and "Measures for the Evaluation of Systemic Importance Insurance Companies"... address both root and root causes, fill regulatory gaps, and build a strong financial safety net.

Adhere to the bottom line thinking, enhance the system concept, focus on resolving risks in key areas, and strictly adhere to the bottom line of avoiding systemic risks. Currently, the overall operation of China's financial industry is stable, and efforts to prevent and resolve risks are being carried out in an orderly manner, "said the person in charge of the relevant work of the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration.

Deepening the Promotion of Financial Reform and Opening up

Continuously deepening the structural reform of the financial supply side and steadily expanding financial openness... Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China's financial reform and opening up have been orderly promoted, achieving new major breakthroughs.

Continuously improving the financial regulatory system——

On May 18th, the State Administration of Financial Supervision and Administration of China officially listed itself, marking an important step in the new round of financial regulatory reform.

In March of this year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council issued the "Party Agreement

The National Institutional Reform Plan ", many of which involve the field of financial regulation.

Industry insiders point out that from the establishment of the State Council Financial Stability and Development Commission and the establishment of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission in the previous round of financial regulatory reform, to the significant adjustment of the current round of financial regulatory structure, China has continuously deepened the reform of the financial regulatory system in recent years, promoting the unification of regulatory standards and improving regulatory efficiency.

Continued efforts in institutional reform in the financial sector——

Establish a science and technology innovation board and pilot a registration system to support and encourage "hard technology" enterprises to go public; Reform the Growth Enterprise Market and pilot the registration system, continuously improving support and services for innovative and entrepreneurial enterprises; Establishing the Beijing Stock Exchange to create a main battlefield for serving innovative small and medium-sized enterprises... Focusing on the supply side, identifying key financial services, and continuously deepening capital market reform.

In recent years, reform has become a high-frequency term in the financial field. From promoting the reform of the loan market quoted interest rate (LPR), to continuously improving the corporate governance of financial institutions, making significant progress in the pilot reform of the third pillar pension insurance, to fully implementing the reform of the stock issuance registration system, a series of reforms have laid the institutional foundation for promoting high-quality financial development.

Financial openness, rapid and steady steps——

The Shanghai Shenzhen Hong Kong Stock Connect, Shanghai London Stock Connect, Bond Connect between the Mainland and Hong Kong, and Swap Connect were launched. Chinese bonds were included in the world's three major bond indexes. The restrictions on the shareholding ratio of foreign financial institutions in China were lifted, and the business scope of foreign financial institutions was significantly expanded. In recent years, China's financial market has shown a more open attitude, and foreign institutions have continuously increased their investment in China.

The Chinese financial market has sent a clear signal of openness to the international community, promoting a more comprehensive global financial governance system, and significantly enhancing global market confidence, "said Li Jiange, Director General of the Global Wealth Management Forum.

Data shows that as of the end of September this year, 202 banks from 52 countries and regions have established institutions in China; From 2020 to the end of September 2023, foreign banks in China have increased their capital by a total of 18.73 billion yuan. By the end of September this year, 1110 overseas institutions had entered the Chinese bond market and held 3.3 trillion yuan of Chinese bonds.

The internationalization of the RMB is steadily progressing. According to data from the World Bank Financial Telecommunication Association (SWIFT), in September 2023, the Chinese yuan accounted for 5.8% of global trade financing, an increase of 1.6 percentage points year-on-year, and rose to second place in the ranking.

Finance is an important core competitiveness of a country. Under the guidance of the Jinping Xi Thought of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, all departments around the country actively promote high-quality financial development. The path of financial development with Chinese characteristics will become wider and better, providing strong support for Chinese path to modernization.

Source: Chinese government website