CGTN: China pledges to expand financial openness as economy grows

China's financial regulators on Wednesday pledged to expand high-level financial openness to attract more foreign investment at the opening ceremony of the 2023 Financial Street Forum in Beijing.

This year's forum, themed "Better China, Better World: Enhancing Financial Openness and Cooperation for Shared Growth and Mutual Benefits," will last till Friday.

Li Yunze, director of the National Administration of Financial Regulation, said the country will continue to open up the financial sector, and attract more foreign financial institutions and long-term capital to China.

Li noted that China's asset and wealth management industry is entering a "golden age" as incomes rise and investors increasingly embrace long-term investing and value investing.

In recent years, China has taken a number of steps to open up its financial sector. These include the scrapping of a foreign ownership cap in the banking and insurance sectors and the significant reduction in market entry barriers.

Currently, 30 of the world's systemically important banks have set up branches in China. Nearly half of the world's top 40 insurance companies have entered the Chinese market.

Li said that China will further accelerate the implementation of the negative list management system, which allows foreign financial institutions to enter the market unless specifically prohibited.

Meanwhile, Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People's Bank of China, said that China will keep liquidity reasonably ample to support economic growth.

He stressed the importance of steadily expanding the institutional opening of the financial market and promoting the facilitation of trade, investment and financing.

Pan also reiterated the country's commitment to a market-based exchange rate and the steady and gradual internationalization of the Chinese renminbi, also known as the yuan.

Yi Huiman, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, said that China's economic recovery is now on firmer footing and that development potential is being further released.

He said finance will continue to play its crucial role in serving the real economy, focusing on five major fronts: technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance and digital finance.

Yi also stressed the need to guard against risks and vowed to make every effort to maintain the stable and healthy development of the capital market.