A view of the Lujiazui area in Shanghai Photo: VCG

China unveiled an extensive array of financial opening-up policies at the 2026 Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai on Wednesday, encompassing a comprehensive offshore finance action plan, offshore renminbi foreign exchange trading pilots, a new repo facility and a set of incremental foreign exchange liberalization policies. 

Chinese experts said that the multi-layered opening-up measures represent a high level of market liberalization. Against a backdrop of widespread global market turmoil triggered by geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and volatile oil prices, China's consistent pursuit of opening-up and international cooperation is delivering much-needed stability to a fragile world economy. This forward-looking opening-up agenda is a key factor drawing global investors to Chinese assets as a dependable safe haven amid market risks.

Vice Premier He Lifeng said on Wednesday that China will continue to steadily expand institutional opening-up in the financial sector. China welcomes financial institutions from around the world to further deepen their presence in the Chinese market and tap into the country's development opportunities, He, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said at the 2026 Lujiazui Forum that opened on Wednesday in Shanghai, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

China will continue to improve the rule of law in the financial sector and unswervingly safeguard national financial security, He said, adding that the country is ready to improve cooperation on global financial governance and work with all parties to address risks and challenges.

The vice premier pledged support for Shanghai to take the lead in developing offshore finance, accelerating the building of a global allocation and risk management center for renminbi-denominated assets, further facilitating cross-border trade and investment, and enriching credit, insurance and bond products, including shipping insurance.

He noted that these efforts will help Shanghai make new breakthroughs in its development as an international financial center.

Landmark pilot measures   

The 2026 Lujiazui Forum which kicked off on Wednesday unveiled a raft of landmark financial opening‑up policies. 

At the forum, an action plan to develop offshore finance to bolster Shanghai's global financial hub status was released. The blueprint prioritizes initial offshore business pilots covering offshore trade finance, free trade zone offshore bonds, offshore reinsurance and offshore renminbi forex trading, and will expand eligible services gradually based on pilot outcomes, according to the document released on the website of the Shanghai municipal government on Wednesday.

The new policy expands the coverage of offshore financial services and diversifies offshore financial product lines. It will strongly bolster Shanghai's efforts to build an offshore renminbi financial hub and elevate its status as a global international financial center, Xi Junyang, a professor at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

For foreign investors, cross-border financial services previously unavailable onshore can now be accessed via Shanghai's offshore market. The move will improve China's investment climate and help draw more foreign capital, he added.

Other major financial opening-up measures were also rolled out at the forum. Six major domestic banks will pilot offshore renminbi forex trading via the national foreign exchange trading platform within the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, Central Bank Governor Pan Gongsheng announced at the forum. 

The central bank will also launch a renminbi repo facility for foreign and international monetary authorities. The new tool, the FIMA RMB Repo, allows overseas central banks, international financial organizations and sovereign wealth funds to obtain renminbi liquidity through repurchase transactions backed by high-grade assets, including Chinese central government bonds.

Two landmark pilot measures will streamline market operations for overseas investors. The onshore offshore renminbi forex trading pilot facilitates large-scale renminbi transactions for overseas institutions. Meanwhile, the newly launched repo facility strengthens the willingness of overseas official institutions to hold renminbi assets on a long-term basis, Xi Junyang said.

Zhu Hexin, head of China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange, unveiled a series of new forex policies, including issuing fresh quotas under the outbound Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors (QDII) investment scheme. He also disclosed at the forum that foreign holdings of Chinese equities and bonds have exceeded $1 trillion. 

Offshore financial businesses operate under a more open framework separate from onshore rules, offering greater convenience for global capital. Amid turbulent global conditions, China's push to build an offshore financial hub provides a relatively secure venue for international funds, Dong Shaopeng, a senior research fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Safe choice for global investors

China's latest financial opening-up drive comes as global capital is increasingly flowing into the country. Amid tensions in the Middle East and surging oil prices, Chinese assets have stood out as a new safe choice for global investors.

Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission said at the forum that China's capital markets have undergone profound positive changes. Having weathered major risk shocks, the markets have seen growing resilience and risk resistance. Amid sweeping rebalancing and reallocation of global financial assets, Chinese assets are winning wide attention and favor from international investors for their safety, resilience and innovation value.

Xi Junyang noted that the growing appeal of renminbi assets lies in their milder exchange rate volatility compared with other major currencies such as the US dollar or the euro. As uncertainties surrounding US trade policies amplify the risks of holding dollar-denominated assets, more global investors are turning to renminbi assets as a viable alternative. Meanwhile, China's resilient foreign trade has driven robust demand for cross-border renminbi settlements. Furthermore, political stability and solid economic growth also make Chinese stocks and bonds an appealing option for global investors.

The UBS Global Wealth Management Chief Investment Office stated in a note sent to the Global Times on Wednesday that the renminbi remains a bright spot within Asia, having gained by 3.4 percent in the year to date against the US dollar compared to an average loss of 2 percent for Asia ex-Japan currencies.

"We continue to rate the CNY as Attractive within our global currency preferences and favor adding CNY exposure to USD-based portfolios for currency diversification," read the note.

Meanwhile, recent data from Wind shows that global investors, including Morgan Stanley, Barclays and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), have ramped up their exposure to Chinese assets in the first quarter of 2026.

It is worth noting that 2026 marks the inaugural year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-30), which lists building the nation into a financial powerhouse as a core strategic goal. In this context the rollout of opening-up policies at the annual Lujiazui Forum conveys a positive signal that China will push for sustained financial opening-up throughout the Five-Year Plan cycle. By optimizing cross-border capital rules and opening wider to foreign market participants, China aims to coordinate domestic and global financial development and leverage its huge domestic market to drive mutually beneficial global growth, Dong said.