China will take more steps to further facilitate cross-border financial services in Shanghai by leveraging the municipality's role as an international financial center, according to a plan jointly issued by the central bank, the Shanghai municipal government and other financial authorities.
The plan outlines 18 key measures including improving cross-border settlement efficiency, strengthening the hedging of foreign exchange risks, and enhancing the insurance sector's services for export companies.
China will further optimize the management and operation of foreign exchange business, and encourage corporate groups to establish fund pools in Shanghai to achieve efficient onshore management and use of global funds.
The country will also support financial institutions to enhance their capacity to provide digital services and improve services for enterprises to expand abroad by leveraging technologies such as blockchain.
Efforts will be made to enhance the functionality and global coverage of the Cross-Border Interbank Payment System and encourage more banks to participate in the system, according to the plan.
The plan underscores the need to develop diversified products and services to hedge against foreign exchange risks, and to promote cross-border use of the Chinese currency renminbi.
According to the plan, China will increase insurance support for key export enterprises such as domestic commercial aircraft and new energy vehicle companies. The plan also encourages collaboration between insurance companies and reinsurance firms to establish insurance consortiums, thereby enhancing their capacity to cover special risks.
China to further facilitate cross-border financial services in Shanghai
China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) will work with relevant departments and local authorities to take concrete steps to promote the implementation of the newly passed private sector promotion law, a landmark legislation concerning a vast economic force in the country, said an NDRC official.
China's top legislative body -the National People's Congress - passed the private sector promotion law on Wednesday, establishing a legal backing for the steady and healthy growth of the key sector, including more than 57 million private firms and over 100 million self-employed individuals.
This landmark law is China's first fundamental legislation dedicated to the private sector. It will bolster confidence among the vast community by improving the business environment, fostering innovation, and ensuring fair competition, according to NDRC, the country's top economic planner.
"The private sector promotion law has actively responded to the key concerns in the development of the private sector. Efforts are made to establish and improve relevant systems and enhance the enforceability of the systems, from ensuring fair competition, improving investment and financing environment, supporting technology innovation, focusing on regulated operation, optimizing services and guarantees, and improving rights and interest protection, to strengthening legal accountability, so as to ensure that all forms of ownership can equally utilize production factors by the law, participate in market competition fairly, receive equal legal protection, further unleash their complementary advantages, and pursue common development," said Liu Min, deputy director of Private Sector Development Bureau under NDRC.
Liu added NDRC will continue to work together with relevant departments and local authorities to improve supporting systems and mechanisms and take concrete steps to promote the implementation of the private sector promotion law.
"We will make continuous and increasing efforts to remove barriers to market access and to fair competition, to address the issue of overdue payments to private enterprises, to protect the lawful rights and interests of private businesses and entrepreneurs by the law, to implement various relief policies, to help private enterprises shoulder their responsibilities of the era, so as to help translate legal systems into concrete actions and tangible outcomes that promote the high-quality development of the private sector," said Liu.
Concrete steps to take for firmly implementing China's landmark private sector promotion law: official
