China, the world’s second-largest economy and a country pursuing sweeping domestic reform of its banking, securities and insurance sectors, has issued a five-year plan to fortify its financial system between 2026 and 2030, with officials placing risk prevention, tighter supervision and sustainable growth at the centre of the strategy.
The blueprint was drawn up by the office of the Central Financial Commission in coordination with the country’s financial authorities, Lu Lei, deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), told a press conference on Thursday.
By 2030, Beijing intends to have a modern financial system with Chinese characteristics fully in place, with coordinated regulation, a restructured financial system, rigorous supervision and sharper, more efficient risk controls. Officials also pointed to a fuller legal framework for finance, steadier progress on high-standard opening up and a stronger international footing for the sector as part of the 2030 goals.
Looking further out, the plan sets a 2035 target of establishing a highly adaptive, competitive and inclusive modern financial system, which authorities describe as the foundation for turning China into a stronger financial power.
The strategy’s core tasks span improving macro-regulation of the financial sector, tightening supervision, defusing risk, channelling more support to the real economy, lifting the quality of financial sector growth and widening high-standard opening up.
On monetary policy, Lu said the PBOC will keep refining its framework to reflect structural shifts in the economy, with a continued focus on currency stability, a stronger base money supply mechanism, an improved reserve requirement system and more flexible, precise open market operations.
The managed floating exchange rate regime will remain in place, with market forces given a decisive role in setting the rate while authorities guard against herd behaviour and self-reinforcing irrational expectations. The central bank also plans to sharpen how it communicates policy, building more regular and predictable channels to make its intentions easier to read.
Capital markets are also due an overhaul. Li Chao, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), said the regulator will push a new round of reform and opening up, aiming for a marked jump in the market’s overall strength and global competitiveness by 2030, which marks the 40th anniversary of China’s capital market.
Plans include more inclusive rules for share issuance, listings and mergers and acquisitions, with the goal of making the A-share market the default listing choice for strong domestic companies.
On the risk side, Cong Lin, deputy head of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, said regulators will move decisively against risks at local small and medium-sized institutions and act firmly to head off major risk events, while pushing lenders and insurers away from scale-driven expansion and towards quality and performance, including a crackdown on price wars, illegal commission rebates and excessive interest rates or returns.
Institutions will also face more tailored rules setting out what business they can and cannot do, encouraging them to stick to core operations rather than chase broad, undifferentiated growth.
The People’s Bank of China is the country’s central bank, responsible for monetary policy, currency stability and the broader stability of the financial system.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission oversees the country’s capital markets, while the National Financial Regulatory Administration supervises the banking and insurance sectors, working alongside the Central Financial Commission, which coordinates overall financial policy.
Beyond the headline targets, officials pointed to progress already under way. Li Bin, deputy head and spokesperson of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said China has achieved basic convertibility for direct investment transactions, with cross-border securities investment now running through institutional investor programmes, market connectivity links and direct market access for overseas investors, all under macro-prudential oversight.
Li Chao added that medium- and long-term funds, including social security, annuity and insurance funds, have bought more than 600bn yuan (about $88.4bn) of A-shares on a net basis since the start of the year, lifting the value of their tradable A-share holdings by 12.5% since the end of 2025. Officials also noted that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China’s banking and insurance sectors delivered more than 170 trillion yuan in extra financing to the real economy through loans, bonds and equity.
The incoming 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) calls for aligning social financing and money supply growth with economic and price targets, allowing more flexibility in the renminbi exchange rate while keeping it broadly stable, expanding patient capital, strengthening the entry route for long-term funds into capital markets, and reinforcing supervision and risk resolution.
Copyright © 2026 FinTech Global
