Financial Services Regulation 2025 Comparisons

China has established a comprehensive and multi-layered legal framework for financial services, built upon foundational statutes and implemented by specialised regulatory authorities. At its core are three principal laws:

• the Commercial Bank Law, governing the establishment, operation and risk management of deposit-taking institutions;
• the Securities Law, regulating the issuance and trading of securities, corporate disclosures and the conduct of capital market participants; and
• the Insurance Law, overseeing the licensing, solvency and business conduct of insurance entities.

These laws are administered under a tripartite regulatory structure consisting of:

• the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), serving as the central bank responsible for monetary policy, systemic risk management and payment systems;
• the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), acting as the consolidated supervisor for the banking and insurance industries, as well as trust companies and other financial institutions; and
• the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), charged with overseeing capital markets, including stocks, bonds and futures.

The guiding principles of this framework include maintaining financial stability, protecting consumer rights and preventing systemic risk. These principles have driven an evolution away from traditionally segregated supervision towards a more integrated and function-based approach, particularly in relation to cross-sector financial products.

A seminal example of this evolution is the Guiding Opinions on Regulating the Asset Management Business of Financial Institutions (“New Asset Management Regulations”), a landmark policy that has unified regulatory standards across the entire asset management industry. Its primary objectives are to:

• dismantle implicit guarantees;
• eliminate problematic practices such as multi-layer nesting and channel businesses;
• reduce leverage; and
• move away from rigid capital preservation, thereby reshaping the risk profile of China’s multi-trillion yuan wealth management market fundamentally.

Beyond these core elements, the framework continues to evolve to address emerging challenges, including tighter regulation of fintech sectors, particularly third-party payment services and online lending. Overall, the system is characterised as “separate operations under different regulatory authorities with co-ordinated supervision” – a model that enables specialised oversight while promoting inter-agency co-operation to govern the full spectrum of financial activities in this dynamic and strategically important market.

Under China’s financial regulatory framework, a broad spectrum of financial products and services fall within the scope of regulatory oversight. Supervision is tailored to each sector’s risk profile, market significance and potential impact on financial stability. This targeted approach ensures that high-risk areas receive stricter supervision while supporting the orderly development of essential financial functions.

Banking Services

Core banking functions are subject to stringent and multi-layered regulation. These include deposit-taking from the public (which underpins credit creation) and lending to corporations, individuals and government-led infrastructure projects. Regulatory authorities impose strict capital adequacy requirements, mandate provisioning for non-performing loans, and enforce rigorous pre-lending due diligence. Banks must assess borrowers’ creditworthiness comprehensively and set loan-to-value ratios for mortgages. Both deposit-taking and lending are deemed critical to maintaining orderly capital flow, while violations – such as unauthorised adjustments to deposit interest rates – can result in severe penalties, including fines and licence restrictions.

Payment and Settlement Services

Often described as the “plumbing” of the financial sector, these services are tightly regulated to ensure efficiency, security and compliance with anti-money laundering obligations. They include traditional bank transfers, inter-bank and cross-border remittances, and third-party payment platforms such as Alipay and WeChat Pay. Providers must:

• obtain proper licences;
• segregate client funds from operating funds;
• implement real-time transaction monitoring; and
• for cross-border services, register with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange to ensure compliance with foreign exchange regulations.

Securities and Capital Markets

The entire lifecycle of securities – from issuance to secondary trading – is comprehensively regulated to protect investors and maintain market integrity. The China Securities Regulatory Commission rigorously reviews initial public offerings and bond issuances, examining financial reports, risk factor disclosures, business operation plans and repayment capacity. Secondary market trading takes place on national exchanges, including the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges, covering equities, bonds and derivatives such as stock index futures and options.

Advanced surveillance systems detect market manipulation, insider trading and abnormal price fluctuations. Securities underwriting, brokerage and investment advisory services require official licensing, and regulatory authorities conduct both on-site and off-site inspections to ensure compliance with fiduciary duties and client asset protection rules.

Asset Management

This sector is subject to particularly stringent regulation and has undergone significant restructuring under the cross-regulatory New Asset Management Regulations. These rules standardise oversight for previously fragmented products – including bank wealth management products, mutual funds and trust plans – prohibiting implicit guarantees, curbing excessive leverage and eliminating opaque channel businesses. Collectively, these measures enhance market transparency and strengthen investors’ risk awareness.

Insurance

The insurance sector encompasses life insurance (eg, endowment and critical illness policies), health insurance, property insurance (eg, motor and property damage coverage) and casualty insurance. Supervised by the NFRA, regulatory oversight focuses on product pricing, solvency management and sales practices. Pricing mechanisms are designed to prevent underpricing that could erode solvency, while solvency margin requirements ensure that insurers hold sufficient capital to meet future claims.

Sales supervision aims to curb misleading marketing practices, including misrepresentation of coverage terms or concealment of exclusions. Insurers must submit product pricing models for approval, maintain a statutory solvency ratio (typically at least 100%), and ensure that sales representatives are properly qualified and provide clear written disclosure of key product information. The NFRA also administers a national insurance guarantee fund to protect policyholders in the event of insurer insolvency. Penalties for non-compliance include fines and revocation of operating or sales licences.

China’s financial regulatory framework incorporates targeted exemptions designed to balance prudential oversight with market development. Key categories include the following.

Disclosure Exemptions for Listed Companies

In listed company supervision, structured exemption mechanisms are embedded within disclosure regulations. Where information involves state or commercial secrets, listed companies may apply for temporary non-disclosure or full exemption from disclosure obligations. The core principle is to balance market transparency with the protection of legitimate sensitive information; these mechanisms are not intended to justify concealment or misinformation. Listed companies must maintain rigorous internal controls to document and justify any exemption, ensuring it is used to mislead investors. This framework preserves both the integrity of disclosure and the confidentiality necessary for legitimate business operations.

Risk Tolerance Policies in Inclusive Finance

To promote inclusive finance, regulatory authorities have introduced explicit risk tolerance policies for lending to micro and small enterprises in specific areas. For example, banks may exempt micro and small enterprises from certain compliance checks and streamline processes for services like principal-free loan renewals and loan extensions. This policy aims to reduce institutional concerns when serving high-risk groups and to protect credit officers in good faith and in accordance with established procedures. These measures have encouraged broader participation in inclusive finance, enhanced credit availability in underdeveloped regions, and supported micro and small enterprises’ access to stable financial support.

Business Scope Adjustments for Microcredit Companies

In 2024, new rules expanded the permissible and conditional business scope of microcredit companies beyond traditional lending. Qualified microcredit firms can now engage in commercial draft acceptance and discounting, aligning their operations more closely with those of commercial banks. They may also conduct risk control processes online, enhancing operational flexibility. Nevertheless, such expansion requires explicit approval from provincial-level regulatory authorities to ensure the controllable risks while enhancing competitiveness.

Cross-Border Flow of Financial Data in Pilot Areas

Within the framework of the national security management system for cross-border data transmission, efforts will be made to explore and develop unified compliance standards for the cross-border flow of financial data, clarify the rules governing such flow, and allow financial institutions in pilot areas to transmit the data needed for their daily operations to overseas parties in accordance with the law.

Meanwhile, on the basis of protecting data security and personal information security or out of prudent considerations, regulatory measures may be adopted for the cross-border transmission of financial data. Exploration will also be conducted to establish a “white list” system for cross-border circulation of financial data, under which data that has been maturely researched in pilot areas and approved by the relevant national authorities will be included in the “white list”.

In addition, in light of the needs of financial institutions in Pilot Free Trade Zones for cross-border data transmission, studies will be carried out to identify the data list that needs to be covered by the scope of management, including security assessment for data outbound transfer, standard contracts for cross-border transfer of personal information, and personal information protection certification. This will enable the efficient conduct of security assessments for the outbound transfer of important financial data and personal information in the financial sector.

Mainland China has established a comprehensive and stringent regulatory framework that draws a clear distinction between the ownership and trading activities of crypto-assets. With respect to ownership, individuals are legally permitted to hold cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Ethereum. In several judicial cases, Chinese courts have tended to classify such assets as virtual commodities, thereby recognising them as lawful property entitled to legal protection. However, such ownership must be obtained through legitimate means and may not be used to facilitate any illegal conduct.

By contrast, all forms of cryptocurrency trading and related financial activities are strictly prohibited in Mainland China. Domestic crypto-asset exchanges have been ordered to cease operations, and financial institutions as well as payment service providers are barred from offering crypto-asset-related services. This prohibition extends to fund transfers, settlements and the provision of technical or operational support associated with crypto-asset transactions.

China’s financial regulatory framework has undergone profound reform, evolving from the former “one bank, three commissions” structure into a more integrated and co-ordinated supervisory regime. As of 2023, the financial system is overseen by four primary regulatory bodies, each with distinct mandates and areas of jurisdiction.

Central Financial Commission (CFC)

Established in March 2023, the CFC serves as China’s top-level financial regulatory authority. It is responsible for the overall supervision and co-ordination of the financial system, safeguarding financial stability and ensuring the implementation of strategic policies of the Communist Party of China and the State Council. Local financial commissions have been established nationwide to align with the CFC’s unified supervisory framework.

People’s Bank of China

As China’s central bank, PBOC formulates and implements monetary and credit policies, and leads the prevention and resolution of systemic financial risks. Its regulatory mandate includes supervision of the interbank bond, money, foreign exchange, commercial paper and gold markets, along with over-the-counter derivatives related to these segments. It also determines the renminbi exchange rate mechanism and ensures the secure and efficient operation of payment, clearing and settlement systems. Affiliated institutions include the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (National Interbank Funding Center), the Credit Reference Center and the China Anti-Money Laundering Monitoring and Analysis Center. In addition, PBOC exercises administrative oversight over the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

National Financial Regulatory Administration

Formally established in May 2023, the NFRA succeeded the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, which itself was formed in 2018 through the merger of the China Banking Regulatory Commission and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission. The consolidation was designed to eliminate overlapping supervisory functions and strengthen risk control across the banking and insurance sectors, particularly in light of increasingly diversified and mixed operations among China’s major financial conglomerates. The NFRA now exercises comprehensive supervision over all financial institutions and businesses, except those related to the securities markets.

China Securities Regulatory Commission

The CSRC functions as China’s dedicated securities market regulatory authority, exercising centralised supervision over all securities-related activities. Its jurisdiction covers stock exchanges, securities firms, fund management companies, futures markets and a wide range of related intermediaries. The CSRC’s main responsibilities include rule-making, investor protection, securities law enforcement, and market order and integrity maintenance. It maintains 36 local dispatched agencies across provincial jurisdictions, and has established dedicated supervisory offices in Shanghai and Shenzhen to oversee the operations of China’s two national stock exchanges and related market infrastructure institutions.

Regulatory rules and guidance from China’s financial services regulatory authorities are publicly accessible through their official websites. For ease of reference, PBOC (www.pbc.gov.cn), the NFRA (www.nfra.gov.cn) and the CSRC (www.csrc.gov.cn) each maintain dedicated sections for “Regulations & Guidelines”.

Soft law governing the financial services sector in China can generally be grouped into the following categories.

Regulatory Notices, Opinions and Guidelines

Financial regulatory authorities issue notices, opinions and guidelines to provide interpretive direction and implementation guidance on regulatory matters. A representative example is the NFRA’s “Guiding Opinions on Promoting High-Quality Development of Financial Asset Management Companies and Improving Regulatory Quality and Effectiveness”. These instruments establish regulatory expectations, outline policy objectives and provide practical guidance on compliance and risk management.

Industry Self-Regulatory Rules

Self-regulatory organisations such as the China Banking Association, the Securities Association of China and the National Internet Finance Association of China issue operational rules and standards applicable to their respective sectors. These self-regulatory rules translate broad statutory provisions into sector-specific operational practices. While formally voluntary, they have substantive practical effect: industry associations may impose disciplinary measures for non-compliance, and regulatory authorities expect market participants to adhere to these standards. Self-regulatory rules also allow for more agile responses to emerging issues than formal legislation.

Regulatory Notices and Risk Alerts

Regulatory authorities also use notices and risk alerts to communicate supervisory priorities, highlight potential market or compliance risks, and guide institutions toward sound practices. These mechanisms enable them to respond rapidly to emerging issues without undergoing the formal rule-making process. Risk alerts often identify problematic practices or deficiencies requiring remediation, while regulatory notices communicate broader policy directions. Collectively, they enhance regulatory agility and serve as early-warning tools in a fast-evolving financial environment.

In addition, soft laws are sometimes embedded within formal legislation. For instance, the Private Sector Promotion Law encourages the development of market-based risk-sharing mechanisms for private enterprise financing, and supports co-operation between banks and guarantee institutions. While these provisions do not create enforceable obligations, they articulate key policy objectives and shape the direction of financial regulation in China.

China has largely implemented the Basel III framework. Specifically, China has phased in the Basel III reforms through regulations such as the “Commercial Bank Capital Management Measures (for Trial Implementation)” (later revised as the “Commercial Bank Capital Management Measures”).

These measures were first issued in 2013 and were further revised in 2023 to strengthen capital adequacy requirements, covering Common Equity Tier 1, Tier 1 capital and total capital adequacy ratios, with minimum requirements set for each. During the implementation process, the NFRA and PBOC are responsible for supervising compliance by banking institutions, and further alignment with international standards is expected in the future.

In China, the A-share market has implemented a T+1 settlement cycle, which is managed by the China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation Limited.

In 1995, A-shares transitioned from T+0 to T+1, to mitigate settlement risks.

This system currently applies to stock trades, while other products such as bonds may be subject to different settlement arrangements. Regulators like the CSRC have not publicly indicated plans to revert to T+0 or further shorten the cycle, but they are continuously assessing market efficiency.

China has introduced a series of financial services regulatory rules to encourage ESG investment and fund development.

• In December 2015, PBOC released the “Guidelines on Issuing Green Financial Bonds”, introducing green financial bonds in the interbank bond market. This initiative created a new fundraising channel for financial institutions to raise capital through the bond market to support green industry projects.
• With the deepening practice of ESG concepts, PBOC, the National Development and Reform Commission and the CSRC jointly released the “Green Bond Endorsed Projects Catalogue (2021 Edition)” in 2021, aligning it more closely with the “dual carbon” goals and international trends. Simultaneously, the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges optimised their ESG information disclosure standards, promoting market awareness and regulatory unification.
• In June 2025, PBOC, the NFRA and the CSRC jointly issued the latest “Green Finance Supported Projects Catalogue (2025 Edition)”. This represents a significant integration and upgrade of the previous standard system, and marks another major achievement in developing China’s foundational green financial system and standards framework.

Overall, from 2015 to 2025, the construction of China’s ESG investment rule system has evolved through stages of initiation, standardisation, unification and deepening. Each step has emphasised policy coherence, standard enhancement and market orientation, laying a solid foundation for the high-quality development of ESG.

China is establishing a collaborative multi-law regulatory framework to address the unique compliance challenges posed by financial AI. This framework is currently built upon a core foundation consisting of the Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China, the Data Security Law of the People’s Republic of China, and the Personal Information Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China. It is further supplemented by the Fintech Development Plan (2022–2025) and the Information Disclosure Guide for the Financial Application of AI Algorithms. This system emphasises data localisation requirements and context-specific implementation.

In 2025, PBOC mandated that large financial institutions achieve 100% coverage of AI ethics reviews, further underscoring the mandatory nature and enforcement strength of the regulations. It is noteworthy that China’s regulatory framework demonstrates a distinct characteristic of legislative synergy: the Civil Code of the People’s Republic of China establishes the fundamental principles for personal information protection, while the Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China focuses on the security obligations of network operators. Together, they provide the legal foundation for algorithmic processing of personal information.

China’s regulatory approach to fintech is characterised by “balancing innovation encouragement with risk prevention”, embodying a stance of prudent support.

Regulatory sandboxes have been rolled out nationwide, exemplified by the fintech innovation supervision pilots conducted by PBOC in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, allowing enterprises to test new products in a controlled environment. China has also been actively developing its central bank digital currency, the digital yuan (e-CNY), which has been piloted in multiple cities since 2020, with plans for gradual expansion of its application.

China’s financial services regulatory authorities have implemented multiple initiatives to protect vulnerable customers.

At the regulatory framework level, the State Council has issued documents such as the “Guiding Opinions on Strengthening Financial Consumer Rights Protection”, which establish eight fundamental rights for financial consumers (including the right to property safety, the right to be informed and the right to autonomous choice) and require financial institutions to avoid discriminatory treatment of vulnerable customers.

At the detailed regulatory level, authorities including the NFRA have promulgated rules such as the “Measures for the Management of Consumer Rights Protection in Banking and Insurance Institutions” and the “Measures for the Management of Investor Suitability in Securities and Futures”. These regulations specify the special protection obligations of financial institutions toward vulnerable customers, covering processes such as risk assessment, information disclosure and complaint handling.

China’s principal financial regulators have issued several core documents concerning shadow banking to prevent and control risks, and to promote standardised industry practices. The key regulatory documents and proposals are as follows.

Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Strengthening the Regulation of Shadow Banking Issues (Document No 107)

Issued in December 2013, this is the foundational regulatory document for shadow banking. For the first time at the national level, it provided a clear definition and classification (three categories) of shadow banking, established the principle that “whoever approves the institution is responsible for its risk disposal”, and constructed a co-ordinated regulatory system involving central and local authorities and multiple departments. It also set forth requirements for standardising the wealth management business of financial institutions, promoting the transformation of trust companies, and controlling interconnected financial businesses.

Guiding Opinions on Regulating the Asset Management Business of Financial Institutions (the “New Asset Management Rules”) and Supporting Detailed Rules

Jointly issued in April 2018 by four departments, including PBOC and the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, these rules aim to unify the regulatory standards for asset management products, prevent and control risks, and serve the real economy. Key requirements include:

• unifying product classification;
• breaking the practice of “rigid payments” (implicit guarantees);
• prohibiting the operation of capital pools;
• limiting leverage levels;
• regulating the levels of product nesting;
• strengthening look-through supervision; and
• clarifying the due diligence and risk control obligations of financial institutions.

China Shadow Banking Report

Published in December 2020 by a research group of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, this was the first comprehensive analysis of shadow banking by a regulator. It offered the first official definition and four criteria for identification, divided shadow banking into broad and narrow categories, clarified its scope and scale, analysed its development and risk characteristics, and proposed the establishment of a robust and continuous regulatory system to achieve full coverage without blind spots. It also noted that shadow banking will coexist with traditional finance in the long term.

China Financial Stability Report (2024)

Released by PBOC in December 2024, this report assessed the effectiveness of shadow banking risk governance, pointing out that the asset management business has been returning to its origins and risks have been continuously converging since the implementation of the New Asset Management Rules. Subsequent regulation will be advanced in four aspects:

• leveraging the role of shadow banking in serving the real economy under effective supervision;
• improving regulation to prevent the rebound of risks;
• strengthening risk management and prudent investment philosophies; and
• enhancing the risk monitoring framework.

In China, financial services authorisation adheres to the principle of “separate regulation and licensed operation”, where different financial sectors are approved by their corresponding regulatory bodies. The specifics are as follows:

• the NFRA is responsible for authorising institutions and businesses such as banks, insurance companies, trust companies and wealth management subsidiaries;
• the CSRC is responsible for authorising securities and futures-related businesses, including securities firms, fund management companies, futures companies and private equity firms;
• PBOC is responsible for authorising specific financial licences, such as those for third-party payment services and digital currency-related businesses; and
• local financial regulatory bureaus are responsible for the filing or approval of local financial organisations, such as small loan companies, financing guarantee companies and pawnshops.

All financial activities must be “authorised before commencing business”. Engaging in financial business without obtaining a licence is deemed an “illegal financial activity” and is subject to severe penalties, including shutdown and fines.

The core process is illustrated below, using the establishment of a commercial bank as an example.

Preliminary Preparation and Application for Construction

The sponsors must meet the conditions stipulated in Article 12 of the Commercial Banking Law, including the minimum registered capital requirement (CNY1 billion for a national commercial bank), a management team with professional experience, and a sound corporate governance structure. The sponsors submit a construction application to the NFRA, which includes a feasibility study, a construction plan and a promoters’ agreement.

Regulatory Review and Approval of Construction

The regulatory authority conducts a comprehensive review in accordance with the Implementation Measures for Administrative Licensing Items of Chinese-funded Commercial Banks of the CBIRC. The review focuses on shareholder qualifications, capital adequacy and business plans. The authority will make a written decision of approval or disapproval within four months of the date of acceptance. Upon receiving approval, the preparatory phase (construction period) is typically six months. If the institution cannot be established on schedule, the construction team must submit a report for an extension one month before the deadline. Only one extension is permitted, for a maximum of three months.

Application for Business Commencement and Final Approval

Upon completion of the construction phase, an application for business commencement is submitted to the regulator, which includes a capital verification certificate, a draft of the articles of association, and proof of qualifications for senior management. The regulatory authority will make a written decision of approval or disapproval within two months of the date of acceptance. After receiving the approval for business commencement and the Financial Licence, the sponsors may then register for a business licence. The bank must commence operations within six months of receiving its business licence. If it cannot open on schedule, a report for an extension must be submitted one month before the deadline. Only one extension is permitted, for a maximum of three months. If the bank fails to commence business within the specified period, the approval for business commencement becomes invalid. The decision-making authority will then cancel the licence, retrieve the Financial Licence and make a public announcement.

Timelines

The time required for approval varies for different financial licences. The set-up and approval process for a financial institution is typically divided into two main stages: “construction” and “commencement of business”. Regulators have statutory time limits for reviewing both stages. These limits generally refer to the regulator’s internal review time. For example, the regulatory review period for a commercial bank’s construction is four months, and the review period for its business commencement is two months.

After obtaining approval for each stage, the sponsors are given a six-month period for preparation (the construction period and the business commencement preparation period, respectively). During each period, the sponsors may apply for one extension, which cannot exceed three months.

The total time to obtain a licence varies by business type. For instance, for a commercial bank, the process from construction application to the commencement of business typically takes 18 months to two years, or even longer. For an insurance company, according to the Administrative Regulations on Insurance Companies, it usually takes 12 months or more. The specific duration depends on factors such as the completeness of the application materials, the efficiency in responding to regulatory inquiries, and the prevailing policy environment.

Fees

The primary fees and costs are as follows.

• Administrative approval fees: the administrative fees paid directly to regulatory authorities are relatively low and, in many cases, are waived.
• Registered capital: this is the most significant financial threshold for establishing a financial institution. Different types of institutions have different minimum registered capital requirements, which must be paid-in cash capital. For example, the minimum registered capital is CNY1 billion for a national commercial bank, CNY300 million for a consumer finance company, and CNY100 million for a public fund management company.
• Other preparatory costs: these include expenses for leasing office space, human resources, construction and operation of information systems, and professional service fees for legal, auditing and consulting firms.

While the regulatory fees themselves are not high, it is noteworthy that the comprehensive costs of meeting regulatory requirements (especially capital contributions and professional service fees) are substantial.

Senior individuals within authorised financial services firms are subject to direct regulation. Before senior management personnel can officially take up their positions, the financial institution must submit their profiles to the relevant regulatory authority (such as the NFRA or CSRC) for a “fit and proper” review. The regulator assesses the proposed candidates’ professional knowledge, experience, integrity record and independence.

During their tenure, senior management personnel are subject to the Company Law of the People’s Republic of China, a general law that stipulates the duties of loyalty and diligence for all directors, supervisors and senior executives. This statute serves as the legal basis for holding them accountable.

When a financial institution is involved in major legal or regulatory violations or causes significant risks, the regulator will initiate accountability procedures. This “dual-penalty system” (punishing both the institution and the individuals) is a key feature of the regulatory approach. Penalties against individuals can include warnings and personal fines.

Looking ahead, financial services reforms in Mainland China are expected to centre on several main themes:

• strengthening supervision;
• preventing and controlling risks;
• serving the real economy; and
• promoting high-level opening-up.

These reforms are heavily guided by the spirit of the recent Central Financial Work Conference and the new “Nine-Point Guideline” (Several Opinions of the State Council on Strengthening Regulation, Preventing Risks and Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Capital Market), all aimed at fostering high-quality financial development.

The main expected reform directions include the following.

• Strengthening the supervision of securities and fund institutions, guiding them to adopt sound business philosophies and to balance their functional roles with profitability.
• Further deepening comprehensive reform and opening-up to better serve high-quality development. This includes focusing on “five key areas”: technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance, and digital finance. Efforts will be made to deepen and solidify the registration-based stock issuance system, enhance the institutional competitiveness of the capital market, and increase its inclusiveness towards new industries, new business formats and new technologies. This will better serve the implementation of national strategies such as scientific and technological innovation, green development and the reform of state-owned assets and enterprises; it will also support the growth of small, medium-sized and private enterprises, and promote the development of “new quality productive forces”.
• Fostering a joint effort to promote the high-quality development of the capital market. This involves advancing the development of the legal framework for the capital market and significantly increasing the cost of illegal and non-compliant activities.