Officials outlined new projects, goals at this year's Financial Street Forum in Beijing
An International Monetary Fund official addresses the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum via video link. (CHEN ZHONGHAO / XINHUA)
Beijing is vowing to build a modern financial industry that matches the status of the city as the capital of a major country and better serve the needs of financial institutions, businesses and residents. That's according to officials attending the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2022, held between Nov 21-23 in the city.
"As a national hub for financial management, Beijing boasts abundant financial resources, financial institutions and financial talents," a senior government official from Beijing said while addressing the conference.
"The financial industry is the No 1 pillar industry for Beijing, which is home to roughly 50 percent of the country's financial assets. Utilizing these resources, we will work to develop a modern financial industry that follows the highest standards and better serve the country's new development paradigm."
He said the city will support the upgrading of the functions of financial institutions' Beijing headquarters and ensure that the financial industry provides more effective support for the real economy.
Further efforts will be invested in preventing and addressing financial risks, and strengthening the rule of law in the financial field as Beijing endeavors to foster a world-class market-based business environment for financial institutions from home and abroad, the official noted.
Lin Fusheng, vice-chairman of the Beijing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said at the annual conference that Beijing greatly values providing helpful financial services to "new residents" in the capital.
New residents of a city refer to people who live in the city permanently but have not yet obtained a local hukou, an official document certifying that the holder is a resident of a particular area, or those who obtained a local hukou within the past three years.
Beijing is home to more than 8 million new residents, accounting for approximately 40 percent of all permanent residents in the city.
A girl poses for a photo in front of the venue of Financial Street Forum in Beijing. (TIAN YUHAO / CHINA NEWS SERVICE)
Lin said Beijing will make financial services for new residents cheaper and more efficient while also creating a comprehensive, multitiered and sustainable financial services system that meets the needs of new residents.
"As the fastest-growing group in the process of urbanization, new residents are faced with varied real-life needs in areas such as consumption, employment, housing, healthcare, education and elder care as they integrate into the new city," Lin noted. "They are the main force for expanding the size and quality of the middle-income population. It is the responsibility of local governments to realize their aspirations for a better life, which will also bring development opportunities for financial institutions."
In recent years, Beijing has introduced a slew of financial policies to solve the problems facing new residents.
For instance, it has scaled up financial support for micro and small enterprises that employ large numbers of new residents. A dedicated green channel for financing has been set up to match up financial institutions to major employers of new residents, according to Lin.
Beginning trading on Nov 15,2021, the Beijing Stock Exchange now has 126 listed companies and a combined market value of over 200 billion yuan ($28 billion), according to the exchange.
China announced in September 2021 that it would set up the BSE as the third stock exchange on the Chinese mainland, following the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses, and build it into a major base serving innovative small and medium-sized enterprises.
Yi Huiman, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said at the conference that the foundational institutional arrangements have basically withstood the test of the market since the opening of the BSE. Companies belonging to emerging industries of strategic importance and the advanced manufacturing sector account for more than 80 percent of the listed companies.
Going forward, Yi said his commission will prioritize the reform and innovation of the National Equities Exchange and Quotations to promote the high-quality growth of the BSE.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the construction and development of Beijing Financial Street. The Financial Street Forum has been held 10 times so far.
The Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2022 presented 27 events. Nearly 400 guests from across the world held discussions on 39 topics including energy security, green economy, fintech and the digital economy.