The core mission of inclusive finance has long centered on broadening financial participation, increasing account ownership, and extending service coverage to bring more people into the formal financial system. China has made significant and widely recognized progress in this field.
AIA Group Ltd (HKG: 01299) CEO and President, Yuanxiang Li, expressed this view at the 2026 Lujiazui Forum, during a session focused on enhancing the effectiveness and precision of inclusive finance.
In his view, the current central challenge is no longer simply expanding the number of people covered by the financial system. The true test lies in whether financial resources can be precisely delivered to the areas most in need of support, whether they can enhance the general public's ability to withstand risks, and whether credit funds can truly be directed towards scenarios that improve production efficiency. Small, medium, and micro enterprises are a prime example of this issue; they are central to job creation and innovation, yet many high-quality SMEs still lack sufficient financial backing.
Li believes that in building a financial system, especially an inclusive one, it is essential to ensure fair access to information and eliminate information asymmetry. Only by strictly adhering to compliance throughout the entire credit process can the risk resilience of supply chains be solidified, productive investment empowered, job growth stimulated, and ultimately, sustainable economic development supported. Technology and data will play a crucial role in this process.
"We must use data and technology in a compliant and prudent manner," Li pointed out. They should be leveraged to optimize business decisions and lower financing barriers while simultaneously strengthening risk control. However, technology cannot replace final human judgment. To make scientific and prudent decisions, data must be used appropriately, and greater corporate responsibility must be fulfilled in areas like governance, data security, and information transparency.
"Our core responsibility is to find a balance between achieving social value objectives and realizing reasonable commercial returns. Only when financial institutions themselves possess sufficient operational resilience do they have the sustainable capacity to serve customers in the long term," he stated.
Addressing how to better confront existing challenges, Li noted that solutions should not be limited to increasing capital supply and broadening corporate financing channels. They must also encompass broader issues such as health protection, risk hedging, climate disaster prevention, and various sudden commercial shocks. By assisting residents and enterprises in improving risk management and promoting post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, long-term security can be provided to market entities, overall risk resilience can be enhanced, and deeper participation of more market entities in the real economy can be promoted. From this perspective, developing the insurance industry is fundamentally about strengthening the overall resilience of society.
He also believes that population aging continues to elevate nationwide demand for health security, while global economic volatility and various risks are becoming increasingly complex. Inclusive finance must not only focus on assessing financing needs but also explore how to provide long-term protection for people's lives and property. The effective implementation of various measures relies on multi-party cooperation.
"No single institution can go it alone," Li said. In the field of inclusive finance, only through multi-party collaboration can long-term sustainable development be achieved. We must both reduce the comprehensive cost of services and accurately match the financial needs of different groups. Policy support is indispensable here, with the government playing a key guiding role. Simultaneously, it is necessary to improve public financial infrastructure, leveraging the mature industry experience accumulated by financial institutions and the technological capabilities of innovation platforms to establish long-term, stable trust-based connections with clients.
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