China mulls law to promote high-quality financial development

BEIJING -- Chinese lawmakers are reviewing a draft financial law that seeks to promote high-quality development of the financial sector while strengthening financial regulation, risk prevention and control.

The draft has been submitted to the ongoing session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress, the national legislature, for its first reading.

The draft law consists of 95 articles in 11 chapters. While clarifying functions of the central bank, it focuses on further advancing China's modern central banking system, improving its scientific and prudent monetary policy system and enabling the establishment of a macro-prudential management framework.

The draft also regulates activities of financial institutions, with full life-cycle management covering market access, operations and exit.

It aims to improve standardization of financial products and services, better meet the diversified financial service needs of the real economy and the people, optimize the functions of the financial market system, and improve mechanisms for maintaining financial market stability.

The draft links high-quality financial development and security, upholds the principle that finance should serve the real economy, and seeks to improve the efficiency of financial resource allocation.

It also strengthens legal liabilities, increases penalties for illegal and irregular conduct in the financial sector, and further tightens institutional constraints.