Rural Financial Institutions

China saw a rapid expansion of rural financial institutions last year as the country channels more financial resources to serve the countryside.

China had 1,427 rural commercial banks by the end of 2018, up by 165 compared with the previous year, according to the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Village banks grew from 1,562 at the end of 2017 to 1,616 at the end of 2018.

There were 4,588 banking institutions in China at the end of 2018, up by 39 compared with the end of 2017.

China issued a guideline earlier in February to leverage more financial resources to facilitate rural vitalization. food manufacturers to use “reduced sugar” or “sugar-free” claims, and help consumers learn how to identify added sugar on nutritional fact labels, according to the plan.

A goal has been set to cut the caries rate among 12-year-old children from 34.5 percent in 2016 to less than 30 percent by 2025, the plan said.

It expects the average remaining teeth of seniors aged between 65 and 74 to reach 24 by 2025, while the figure was 22.5 in 2016.

Interventions will be strengthened to improve oral disease prevention and control, including a ban on smoking in public areas and education about the harms of the areca nut, one of the leading causes of oral cancer.