With the conclusion on Tuesday of the closely watched central financial work conference, China has outlined future priorities and directions for the pursuit of the country's high-quality financial development.

China will remain committed to the path of financial development with Chinese characteristics and boost the high-quality development of the financial sector, according to the meeting, the highest-profile gathering in the sector that arranges the country's financial work for the current and future periods.

"Finance is the lifeblood of the national economy," the meeting stressed. It called for accelerating efforts to build up China's financial strength, strengthen financial regulation, improve the financial system, optimize financial services, and forestall and resolve risks.

The following are some of the key financial work priorities highlighted at the meeting.

Upholding leadership of CPC Central Committee

In exploring the path of financial development with Chinese characteristics, China should follow the centralized and unified leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, uphold a people-centered approach, and adhere to the ultimate mission of serving the real economy, according to the meeting.

The CPC Central Committee's centralized and unified leadership is the fundamental guarantee for the development of the financial sector, it said, stressing the role of the central financial commission and the central financial work commission, which were both established earlier this year.

High-quality financial development

Finance should provide high-quality services for economic and social development, according to the meeting.

It called for solid work on developing science and technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, old-age finance and digital finance, as well as smoothing channels for financing to access the real economy.

The meeting also urged efforts to create a sound monetary and financial environment, while stepping up quality financial services for major strategies, key areas and weak links. A prudent monetary policy should be maintained, the meeting noted.

"The pursuit of stronger financial strength and high-quality financial development responds to the call of the times," said Ding Zhijie, director of the Foreign Exchange Research Center of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, who stressed the need to make financial work more professional and increase the sector's international competitiveness.

Modernizing institutions, market system

To promote high-quality financial development and facilitate the flow of capital into the real economy, the meeting underscored efforts to modernize financial institutions and the financial market system.

The registration-based initial public offering system should be further implemented amid efforts to improve the quality of listed firms and foster top-notch investment banks and institutions, it said, while demanding the high-quality development of the bond market.

Large state-owned financial institutions should be given support to become better and stronger, acting as the main force to serve the real economy and the ballast to ensure financial stability.

Efforts should also be made to better facilitate cross-border investment and financing to attract more foreign-funded institutions and long-term capital to China, said the meeting.

Risk prevention an eternal theme

Preventing financial risks must be the eternal theme of the financial sector, and financial innovation should be market-oriented and remain compliant with laws, according to the meeting.

All types of financial activities should be placed under regulation according to the law, it said, urging efforts to establish a long-term mechanism to guard against and defuse local debt risks, and optimize central and local government debt structures.

On the property sector, the meeting said China will promote the virtuous development cycle between the financial and the property sectors, improve the macro-prudential management of real estate financing, and satisfy the reasonable financing demands of real estate enterprises of different types of ownership.

"The meeting has set a clear direction for financial regulatory work," said Qi Xiang, an official with the National Administration of Financial Regulation (NAFR), China's new financial regulator, which was officially set up in May.

Qi said the NAFR will work to improve financial regulation and strengthen the rule of law in the financial sector, promoting legislation in key and emerging areas of financial work. 

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