The Chinese central government has released a new plan that seeks to further raise the status of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban conurbation as the financial hub of western China.
The “Chengdu-Chongqing Western Financial Centre Joint-establishment Plan” (成渝共建西部金融中心规划) was released just prior to Christmas by several of China’s top central government authorities, including the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
The Plan sets the goal of the “preliminary establishment” of the Chengdu-Chongqing region as a financial centre for western China by 2025.
This will involve the “further optimisation of the financial system, continual strengthening of the innovative vitality of financial institutions, marked increases in the level of financial openness, marked optimisation of the financial ecosystem, and a financial commercial environment that occupies the ranks of the national forefront.”
The Plan calls for the “further consolidation of western financial centre status” by 2035, and the “fundamental establishment of regional financial market status that possesses strong financial resource allocation capability and influence,” as well as the formation of an “inland open financial services system that supports regional industrial development, leads national high-quality development, and Western trade and domestic and international dual circulation.”
The Plan also highlights “further improvement to financial services for Belt and Road, and marked improvements in international influence.”
Seven key missions outlined by the plan include:
- Accelerating the formation of a competitive financial organisations system; strengthening financial innovation vitality and comprehensive services capability.
- The establishment of a regionally influential financial market system; strengthening financial resource allocation capability and influence.
- The establishment of a modern financial services system that supports high-quality development and drives the implementation of key national strategies.
- The establishment of a financial innovation system that services high-quality development, and the creation of new engines for innovation driven development.
- The establishment of an inland open financial system that supports global capital allocation, and raising the ability to service domestic and international dual circulation.
- The establishment of a law-based, transparent financial ecosystem; the operation of a secure and stable financial development environment.
- Driving interconnections in financial infrastructure, and consolidating the development foundations for the western financial centre.
