At the 10th New Finance Forum held in Beijing on November 28, 2025, Wang Hongzhang, former Chairman of China Construction Bank, delivered a keynote speech titled "From Restructuring Order to Steady Progress: The Past Decade and Next Five Years of the Financial Sector."
Wang emphasized that building China into a financial powerhouse requires transitioning the financial system toward high-quality development, combining resilience reshaping with value-driven leadership. He highlighted several challenges, including balancing stringent risk supervision with fostering market innovation and vitality.
"A critical issue in high-quality development is avoiding homogeneous competition among commercial banks and financial institutions—a priority underscored by regulators," Wang stated. "Given the widespread adoption of fintech, similarities in products, services, and business models are inevitable. Thus, promoting comprehensive transformation is essential. Only a diversified financial services platform can achieve true innovation."
**Key Points from the Speech:**
1. **Resilience Reshaping:** - Effective coordination between monetary policy and financial supervision has maintained stability, mitigating risks from smaller financial institutions and external shocks. - Global uncertainties, such as the Fed’s prolonged rate hikes and the $30 trillion U.S. national debt, demand stronger financial resilience.
2. **Regulatory Improvements:** - Cross-market and cross-sector firewalls must be strengthened during the transition to comprehensive banking operations. - Enhanced oversight is needed for financial products, derivatives, fintech innovations, and business development.
3. **Value-Driven Leadership:** - Financial services must refocus on supporting the real economy, addressing issues like corporate deposit declines (down 290 trillion yuan since 2014) and excessive household savings (up 14 trillion yuan in 2024). - Optimizing financing structures is critical to channel funds into tech innovation and new productivity drivers.
4. **Policy Recommendations:** - Encourage commercial banks to shift toward direct financing, especially long-term capital investments. - Expand capital market innovation to mobilize savings into investments and consumption. - Boost corporate bond issuance for SMEs and high-tech firms, leveraging their transparency and market efficiency. - Establish long-term patient capital mechanisms through market-driven approaches.
Wang concluded, "Building a financial powerhouse requires synergy across industries, fiscal policies, and technology reforms. By the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China will achieve this vision."
The forum, organized by the Outlook Think Tank, focused on reshaping financial order for sustainable growth.
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