After over 30 years of development, Beijing Financial Street has evolved into a national financial management center that integrates decision-making, regulation, standard-setting, asset management, payment settlement, information sharing, and international cooperation. Currently, it is seizing significant opportunities arising from the development of “two zones”, namely the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening up the Services Sector and China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone, as well as the establishment of the Beijing Stock Exchange. Efforts have been made to strengthen the guiding role of Party building, continuously deepen institutional reforms in the service sector, and accelerate the creation of a world-class asset management hub, so as to support the high-quality development of the financial industry while consistently reinforcing Financial Street’s role as the national financial management center.
Serving and undertaking the tasks of national financial reform and opening up across the board
In recent years, Beijing has been reinforcing the development of the "two zones" and "three platforms" (namely, the CIFTIS, ZGC Forum, and Financial Street Forum). With the guidance and support of financial regulators, the city has been prioritizing pilot reform policies such as the opening up of the financial market, RMB internationalization, cross-border capital flows, and facilitation of investment and financing in the Financial Street. This strategic focus aims to expedite the establishment of prominent foreign-funded financial institutions and support institutions for better development in the Financial Street, as well as their participation in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), thereby building the Financial Street into a pacesetter for further opening up the financial sector.
Daiwa Securities, the first securities company with foreign majority ownership in Beijing, established a presence in Financial Street, along with Cross-border Financial Information Services, a joint venture set up by the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), a globally significant organization for financial infrastructure services, and China National Clearing Center, among others. Taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the "two zones" initiative, Financial Street is gradually extending opening up in institutions, businesses and markets. Furthermore, the "Ten Measures for Financial Opening-up" have been rolled out to comprehensively serve and undertake the tasks of financial reform and opening up assigned by the central government.
Xicheng District is the top performer in terms of total project amount, average project amount, and the number of landmark and breakthrough projects among the “two zones” projects in the city. Financial Street has played a crucial role in in achieving this progress. Since the launch of the “two zones” initiative, 45% of the financial projects in Xicheng District have been launched in Financial Street. The amount of its financial projects included in the project pool accounted for 71% of Xicheng’s total, and the number of financial projects already being implemented accounted for 51%.
Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Financial Street has been committed to high-quality development. A total of 861 financial institutions have established offices in the area, resulting in an increase of 1.2517 trillion yuan in registered capital. More than half of these institutions represent emerging financial forms, and over two-thirds are important institutions that were established after national financial reforms.
At present, Financial Street boasts more than 1,900 financial institutions, including 800 key financial institutions and 175 corporate headquarters. It is worth noting that 16 of these institutions are featured in the Fortune Global 500. The financial industry of Financial Street contributeds nearly 40% to the city’s total value added, and its three-tier tax contribution accounts for 65% of the city's total.
The role as a national financial management center becomes more prominent
In recent years, the financial sector has played a pivotal role and made increased contributions to economic development, underscoring the growing significance of Financial Street's functions.
In terms of serving major national strategies, Financial Street aims to become a leading hub for serving the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Since 2015, the Asian Financial Cooperation Association (AFCA) has been established in the Financial Street. Various funds, such as the Silk Road Fund, China-LAC Industrial Cooperation Investment Fund (CLAIFUND), China-Africa Development Fund, China-Africa Industrial Capacity Cooperation Fund (CAFIC), and China-Kazakhstan Production Capacity Cooperation Fund, have been successively set up to facilitate cooperation in areas covering finance, infrastructure construction, resource development, and industrial integration between China and BRI partners. The establishment of the Beijing Stock Exchange in September 2021 further contributes to building a primary platform for innovation-oriented SMEs.
Regarding financial reform and innovation, Financial Street has attracted a number of key institutions to assist in asset management reform, including NetsUnion Clearing Corporation, Cloud Fee Payment, Cross-border Financial Information Services, and Jianxin Financial Services. These institutions are supporting the People's Bank of China in piloting regulation on fintech innovation and the China Securities Regulatory Commission in piloting regulation on capital market innovation in Beijing. A total of 17 projects have been selected as fintech innovation regulation tools, accounting for 65% of the city’s total, and nine projects have been included in the pilot projects of capital market innovation regulation, accounting for 56% of the city’s total. These achievements highlight the advantages of the Financial Street as a hub for fintech innovation regulation.
As for promoting high-level opening up, Financial Street has released the "Jinkai Ten Articles" in 2020, which signifies that Financial Street has fully undertaken the tasks of national financial reform and opening up. The latest measures include further easing of market access, expansion of capital account liberalization, and support for foreign-funded financial institutions to obtain more business licenses. Currently, 143 foreign-funded institutions have settled on Financial Street, fostering continuously deepened dialogues and exchanges with major global financial cities such as London, New York, and Abu Dhabi. In 2019, Financial Street held the Beijing Financial Street London Forum for the first time, establishing a regular communication mechanism with the City of London.
Expediting the development of a world-class asset management hub
Asset management is an important function of the national financial management center. Financial Street has abundant financial resources, a pool of financial professionals, strong fintech capabilities, and high-level openness, which provides distinctive advantages in asset management. Financial Street offers a comprehensive range of wealth management services, including bank wealth management, insurance asset management, publicly and privately offered funds, trusts, securities asset management, and futures asset management. A number of well-known asset management institutions have established presence, with assets under management exceeding 16 trillion yuan, accounting for over 12% of the national total.
To expedite the establishment of a world-class asset management hub, Xicheng District plans to transform Financial Street into a global pacesetter for asset management within three years, marked by a concentration of asset management institutions and financial professionals, a complete industrial ecosystem, high-level openness, vibrant innovation activities, and a first-class business environment. The goal is to exceed 20 trillion yuan in assets under management at the Financial Street by 2025, further solidifying its advantages in the asset management sector.
Continuously deepening system reform to upgrade services
Over the past 30 years of Financial Street's development, Xicheng District has consistently oriented its efforts towards meeting the needs of national financial management departments and financial institutions in the district. It has improved supporting facilities, built a favorable industrial ecosystem, and fostered a world-class business environment, thereby continuously enhancing its capacity to deliver quality services.
In 2018, an integrated service and support system was created to promote the development of Financial Street as a national financial management center. The system, consisting of the Beijing Financial Street Cooperation and Development Council, Beijing Financial Street Service Bureau, Beijing Financial Street Service Co., Ltd., and the Financial Street Forum, operates under the framework of "government authorization + cross-sector co-governance + professional operation + market mechanism" and aims to enhance the quality of services.
Over the past five years, Financial Street has been committed to improving the "6R" service system, integrating regulatory support, institutional operation, environmental improvement, relationship promotion, professional research, and talent development.
The Financial Street iLounge has been built to provide an open, diverse, and intelligent financial service space; platforms such as the Financial Street Observation and the Financial Street Release have been established to enhance professional services; and "Ten Articles of Financial Services", "Ten Articles for Fintech" and "Ten Articles of Financial Opening-up" have been introduced to leverage the institutional advantage of "policy + service".
Beijing Financial Street Service Bureau and Beijing Financial Street Service Co., Ltd. serve as joint stewards for the financial institutions, facilitating access to both government and enterprise services. With a focus on creating a top-notch environment, enhancing business support services, improving transportation, and ensuring safety, they have provided quality services to institutions in the district, and gained widespread recognition.
Since 2018, the Financial Street Forum has evolved from an annual industry forum to a comprehensive platform consisting of one main forum and multiple sub-forums and salons. This new model has ensured activities every month and news every week under the forum’s framework, establishing the event as a bellwether in the financial sector. In 2020, the forum was upgraded to a national-level and international professional forum, with the aim of fostering positive interaction between finance and the real economy, as well as promoting international financial exchange and cooperation.
Strengthening Party building to forge a new development pattern featuring "three gatherings" and "six collaborations"
In recent years, with a focus on ensuring the highest-standard services for the national financial management center, Financial Street has been upholding the leadership of the Party, continuously enhancing the sense of responsibility and mission, and improving service quality and abilities.
Efforts have been accelerated to upgrade the "Gathering Strengths·Financial Street" Party and Public Service Center, a major platform that provides services to the financial institutions at the Financial Street. Since its establishment in May 2018, the center has consistently leveraged its advantages of locating in the Financial Street to build consensus for development and create distinctive features. Notably, the center has pioneered a new model of "Party building + service" and has held over a hundred featured activities.
For Party building, Financial Street aims to establish a Party's theoretical position, create a visualized showcase for Party building achievements, and build demonstration buildings. Key initiatives such as the Financial Street Party Building Lectures and the Financial Street Party Building Forum were hosted to high standards, gathering momentum for development.
For talent cultivation, Financial Street focuses on building a vibrant community, connecting young financial talents, and supporting institutions in self-organizing. An activity list for the Party and Public Service Center has been made, and various cultural and sports activities have been organized to promote development by pooling wisdom.
To facilitate resource connectivity, priority has been given to resource sharing between district-affiliated institutions and those in the district, coordinating Party building efforts with business activities, and creating a Party building communication matrix. The aim is to establish a directory of Party building resources for financial institutions, effectively support their investment attraction efforts, and promote development through collective endeavors.
Looking ahead, Financial Street will stay committed to the new development pattern featuring "three gatherings" (gathering momentum through Party building, gathering wisdom of talents, gathering strengths with resource connectivity) and "six collaborations" (collaboration in Party building, resource sharing, talent cultivation, service offering, handling specific work, and risk prevention), with a view to leading high-quality development with high-quality Party building.
