People walk into the office building of the National Financial Regulatory Administration in Beijing on May 18, 2023. Photo: Chen Tao/GT

The National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) stressed on Saturday that it will comprehensively strengthen financial regulations and effectively forestall and defuse financial risks, with the bottom line of no systemic financial risks to be firmly held, as Chinese financial regulators have moved swiftly to implement tasks set by the tone-setting central financial work conference.

The government agency held a meeting on Friday and Saturday to implement the decisions of the central financial work conference, which was held in Beijing in October, according to a statement on its website.

It is imperative to accelerate the building of a modern financial regulatory system that adheres to the path of financial development with Chinese characteristics, said the statement.  The NFRA vowed to achieve coordination in policies, regulations, and central and local governments.

Financial regulations will be stricter and cover all financial activities in accordance with the law. Financial supervision will be more forward-looking, precise, effective and better coordinated to eliminate any gaps or blind spots, according to the meeting.

It also vowed to boost the reform and transition of small and medium-sized financial institutions in an intensive manner. The insurance industry as an economic shock absorber and stabilizer for social harmony should be given full play. Active measures should be taken to help resolve local government debt risks and promote a virtuous cycle between finance and real estate, according to the meeting.

The central financial work conference was held in Beijing on October 30 and 31, offering a clear path for the financial industry to tackle risks.

Huang Yiping, a deputy dean of the National School of Development at Peking University, said at the Financial Street Forum annual forum on Friday that resolving financial risks is an important part of building a nation with a strong financial sector.

A national financial security net should be formed through coordination and cooperation among regulatory departments, fiscal departments and the central bank, he said. The regulatory departments are mainly responsible for identifying and resolving risks, the central bank is mainly responsible for preventing and containing systemic financial risks, and the fiscal departments should strengthen their roles as financial sponsors, according to Huang.

The NFRA also ordered improvement in financial product supply to focus on key national strategies and serve the building of a modern industrial system. It also urged efforts to further expand high-level opening-up in the financial sector.

In recent days, leading financial institutions including Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) carried out studies of the spirit of the key conference.

ICBC Chairman Chen Siqing said at the Financial Street Forum annual conference that the bank will optimize the supply structure of capital and comprehensively enhance services in line with the deployment of the central financial work conference so as to better serve high-quality development and the building of a new development pattern.

Chen stressed that ICBC will step up efforts in technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance and digital finance to better serve economic and social development and meet consumers' rising demand for financial products.

In addition, the bank will strengthen global cooperation, product innovation and its function as a bridge to provide comprehensive financial services for enterprises from all countries, Chen said.

Global Times