Futuretasks

The Fifth National Financial Work Conference maps the future development of China’s financial sector

against the backdrop of a slowing global growth and a rebalancing Chinese economy, China mapped out policies to improve its gigantic financial system at the two-day Fifth National Financial Work Conference convened on July 14-15 in Beijing.

Since 1997, the meaningful meeting has been held every five years, setting tones for financial reforms in the next few years. This year, the meeting highlighted tasks of improving the financial sector to better serve the real economy, preventing financial risks and deepening reforms of the financial sector. The conference prioritized proactive measures to unwind systematic financial risks, decided to set up a committee under the State Council to oversee financial stability and development and further open up the country’s financial markets. The Fourth National Financial Work Conference held five years ago clearly identified the need to direct investment to the real economy. This year’s conference reiterated the importance and necessity of making the financial sector better serve the real economy.

Financial history over the past 50 years has proven that consequences of a financial turmoil were catastrophic to any economy and would further affect the world economic order. Fundamentally, turbulences are attributed to inherent defects of financial systems caused by the long-time separation of financial sectors from real economies.

Therefore, directing investment to the real economy is an essential measure to guard against systematic