The Chinese central government has unveiled plans to establish a “modern rural village financial system” as part of broader efforts to shore up financial inclusion in the economy.
The Chinese central bank, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture just jointly launched the “Guidance Opinions on Financial Services for Rural Village Revival” (关于金融服务乡村振兴的指导意见).
The Opinions call for the establishment of a “market system, organisation system and product system for providing financial services to rural village revival,” while setting a series of stage-based targets.
Up until 2020 the Opinions call for “ensuring a continuous increase in financial resources for the support of agriculture, continuous improvements to rural village financial services, and a marked increase in the ability of financial institutions to support agriculture.”
Over the medium and long-term the Opinions call for the establishment of a “modern, rural village financial system which is multi-tier, sustainable, appropriately competitive, and enjoys orderly innovation and risk control.”
The final goal of the Opinions is to “achieve equalisation of urban-rural financial services,” and ensure that “urban-rural financial resource allocation is rational and orderly.”
