The deputy mayor of Beijing has outlined a range of ambitions for stepping up the role and presence of the Chinese capital city in the financial sector, while also providing more details on plans for a new stock exchange.
Yin Yong (殷勇), deputy-mayor of Beijing, said that one of the city’s goals for the 14th Five Year Plan (2021 – 2025) would be to “establish a financial system that matches the functions of the capital, and use greater financial opening to drive financial development that is higher quality, safer and more sustainable.”
Yin made the remarks on 4 September at the 2021 China International Financial Annual Forum (2021中国国际金融年度论坛).
With regard to plans recently unveiled by President Xi Jinping to create a Beijing Stock Exchange, Yin said that the municipal government would “strive to commence operation as soon as possible, and create a stock exchange characterised by service of small and medium-sized enterprise.”
Beijing will also seek to “strengthen effective integration of the Beijing Stock Exchange with various regional equity markets and privately raised equity quota transfer platforms, further improving China’s multi-tier capital system, and accelerating the creation of mechanisms for patient, long-term capital to support innovation and entrepreneurship.”
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) previously said that the Beijing Stock Exchange would be built upon the foundations of China’s “New Third Board” over-the-counter market, and involve the transfer of the market’s “select layer” of companies.
“Establishing the Beijing Stock Market is a major strategic policy of the Chinese Communist Party central committee, and has major significance for the financial function of the capital city,” said Yin.
Yin also outlined a range of other goals for Beijing’s financial sector during the 14th Five Year Plan, including
- Raising capabilities as a national financial regulatory centre, and optimising and increasing the core functions of the capital in terms of policy-making and regulation, asset management and control, payments and settlement, information issuance, the formulation of standards and international exchange.
- Creating a new high-ground for bilateral financial opening. Using the development of the Two Districts (两区) as a trial and testing platform, and actively extending the results of national finance reform and opening. Further making effective use of QFLP and QDLP international renminbi investment and lending funds and other pilot cross-border financial tools, to raise global asset management and cross-border investment and financial service capabilities.
- Consolidating leadership advantages for upgrades in digital finance. Continuing to deepen trials for the digital renminbi and fintech innovation regulation, and better exploiting Beijing’s advantages when it comes to foundational technologies for the blockchain and multi-party secure computing.
