Over the past five years, China's financial sector has achieved some remarkable milestones. The sector has solidified its foundations, enhanced its resilience, and grown in confidence, while meeting challenges of all kinds, said Li Yunze, administrator of the National Financial Regulatory Administration at a press conference of the State Council Information Office (SCIO) on Monday.

Officials attending the briefing highlighted several noteworthy aspects of China's financial sector during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).

Solid growth in core financial indicators

Pan Gongsheng, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, highlighted that China's financial industry has scored major new accomplishments since the launch of the 14th Five-Year Plan. As of the end of June this year, the total assets of China's banking sector reached nearly 470 trillion yuan ($66.08 trillion), ranking first globally. Meanwhile, the scale of the country's stock and bond markets stood second in the world, even as foreign exchange reserves have maintained the top position globally for 20 consecutive years. Pan emphasized that China's financial system remains generally stable—financial institutions are sound on the whole—and financial markets operate smoothly.

Significant headway in financial risk mitigation

Substantial results have been achieved in preventing and resolving financial risks, noted Li Yunze, head of the National Financial Regulatory Administration of China. Echoing the assessment of the financial system's stability, Li pointed out that both the number of high-risk institutions and the scale of high-risk assets have dropped significantly from their peaks, accounting for only a small proportion of the financial system, while related risks are fully controllable. Notably, a considerable number of provinces have achieved the "dynamic clearing" of high-risk small and medium-sized financial institutions.

In terms of the real estate sector, Li stated that efforts to promote the property market's stabilization (stopping the decline and returning to steady growth) have been ongoing. Multiple measures have been taken to stabilize financing for the sector: over 1.6 trillion yuan of funds have been provided to support the "three major projects" (including indemnificatory housing), and loans for rental housing have maintained an average annual growth rate of 52 percent.

Expansion of A-share market and long-term capital inflow

Wu Qing, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) revealed data on the development of the A-share market. By the end of August this year, various types of medium- and long-term funds held a total of approximately 21.4 trillion yuan in the circulating market value of A-shares, representing a 32 percent increase compared with the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020). A milestone was also achieved in August this year: the total market value of the A-share market exceeded 100 trillion yuan (over $14 trillion) for the first time.

Stable foreign exchange reserves provide strong support

State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) Administrator Zhu Hexin stated that since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan, China's foreign exchange reserves have remained stable above $3 trillion, and have stayed above $3.2 trillion in the past two years. This stable reserve scale has served as a solid guarantee for maintaining the stability of the country's foreign economic and financial operations.

Collectively, the achievements listed at the press conference demonstrate that China's financial sector has not only maintained steady expansion but also enhanced its resilience and ability to serve the real economy, laying a solid foundation for the high-quality completion of the 14th Five-Year Plan objectives.