At a press conference held on September 10th, the State Council Information Office provided updates on the financial sector's implementation of the 15th Five-Year Plan and efforts to build a strong financial nation. Liu Cong, Deputy Director of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, stated that serving the real economy is finance's core mission.

He emphasized that the administration will guide the banking and insurance industries to closely align with the primary goals and tasks of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, continuously improving service quality and efficiency to contribute greater financial strength to the high-quality development of the economy and society.

The first priority involves efficiently serving the construction of a new development pattern. This includes working with relevant departments to optimize fiscal-financial coordination policies to boost domestic demand and strengthen financial support for consumption promotion and investment expansion from both supply and demand sides. Several data points were shared to illustrate this progress. In terms of consumption, collaborative efforts have supported interest subsidies on personal consumption loans and loans to service industry operators, with cumulative support for household consumption reaching approximately 1.88 trillion yuan in the first seven months. By the end of July, loans to the wholesale and retail, leasing and business services, and culture, sports, and entertainment sectors grew by 9.9%, 13.3%, and 6.2% year-on-year, respectively. Regarding investment, support is being provided for the establishment of new policy-based financial instruments to assist major project construction, with infrastructure loans growing 5.4% year-on-year by end of July. For foreign trade, a series of policies are being implemented to safeguard trade with financial services, resulting in a 13.4% increase in short-term export credit insurance coverage and a 4.8% rise in the number of clients served by end of July.

Moving forward, financial institutions will be guided to adapt to the needs of consumption upgrading and quality enhancement, supporting the expansion of goods consumption while continuously unleashing the potential of service and new consumption patterns. The administration will insist on closely combining "investment in things" with "investment in people," strengthening financial support for key areas such as the "two major" initiatives, the "two new" programs, the "six networks," and the 109 major projects outlined in the 15th Five-Year Plan. Efforts will also focus on promoting foreign trade stability by supporting intermediate goods exports, overseas warehouse construction, and cross-border e-commerce development.

The second key area focuses on supporting the accelerated cultivation and expansion of new growth drivers. Financial institutions will be guided to coordinate the use of various tools including loans, investment, insurance, and leasing to provide full life-cycle financial services to tech enterprises, intensifying efforts to foster new quality productive forces. In terms of credit, loans to tech enterprises reached 26.9 trillion yuan by end of July, a 17.9% increase year-on-year, while manufacturing loans stood at 41.7 trillion yuan, up 9.8%. On the insurance front, a series of policy documents such as those on technology insurance have been introduced, leveraging the role of co-insurance bodies in fields like integrated circuits and commercial aerospace to empower and enhance efficiency for technological research and development and the transformation of achievements. In the first seven months, technology insurance provided risk protection amounting to 7.2 trillion yuan for scientific and technological activities, representing a 55.8% year-on-year increase.

Next steps include promoting the optimization of financial resource supply in the technology sector and refining policies for insurance funds and other capital to invest early, invest small, invest long-term, and invest in hard technology, thereby supporting the development of emerging and future industries. The administration will also work to expand manufacturing loan disbursement, vigorously support the transformation and upgrading of traditional enterprises, and promote the construction of a modern industrial system.

The third priority is to effectively assist in safeguarding and improving people's livelihoods. The role of the coordination mechanism for supporting small and micro enterprises with financing will be fully leveraged. By the end of July, banking institutions had provided over 43 trillion yuan in loans to 15.65 million small and micro business entities through this mechanism. Agricultural insurance is being expanded in scope, coverage, and standards, with claims payments reaching 59.7 billion yuan in the first seven months. The level of pension and health insurance service guarantees is being elevated, with the insurance industry accumulating more than 13 trillion yuan in provisions for pension and health-related liabilities. The insurance industry is also being guided to leverage its professional risk management expertise, actively participating in pre-disaster prevention, during-disaster mitigation, and post-disaster relief, coordinating risk reduction and claims services. In response to recent major natural disasters such as typhoons, mudslides, and earthquakes, claim payments totaling 12.2 billion yuan have already been made.

Looking ahead, financial institutions will be directed to effectively meet the financial needs of people's livelihoods in areas such as education, sports, culture, and healthcare, optimize financial services for comprehensive rural revitalization, and continuously enhance the sense of access to financing for small and micro enterprises. The development of commercial pension insurance will be vigorously promoted, and the expansion and quality improvement of health insurance encouraged. For the "two types of companies and two types of personnel" (referring to flexible and new employment groups), special inclusive insurance products will be studied and developed, along with strengthened credit support for housing purchases, education, healthcare, and vocational training, to better meet the needs of new employment groups for stable settlement and employment.