Financial Street is no ordinary "street".

The 2026 Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum will convene in Beijing from October 19 to 22. This "street" defined by finance once again captures global attention.

Within an area of less than 2.6 square kilometers lie more than 1,900 financial institutions and 220,000 financial professionals. Its total financial assets exceed 150 trillion yuan, accounting for one-third of the national aggregate, making this street brimming with financial clout.

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that "Finance is the lifeblood of the national economy and a vital component of national core competitiveness. The path of financial development with Chinese characteristics follows the objective laws governing modern financial development and bears distinctive features suited to China’s national conditions. The financial cause under the leadership of our Party is ultimately for the well-being of the people."

From the State Council’s approval in 1993 to build a national financial management center to its current status as one of China’s regions with the densest concentration of financial institutions and talent, the largest volume of RMB assets and the most prominent tax contribution, over three decades of development of Financial Street mirrors the magnificent chapter of China’s financial reform and development.

For the first time, sub-forums are extended to African countries, and live connections are realized among Beijing, Hong Kong and London. With the theme "Openness · Cooperation · Inclusiveness — Jointly Fostering a New Ecosystem for Global Financial Development", the Annual Conference builds consensus through dialogue and creates opportunities via cooperation, serving as a key window for the world to observe China’s financial reform and opening-up.

Powerful Engine: Continuously Injecting Fresh Momentum for Development

To many, this place is the "heart" of China’s finance.

It hosts major national financial regulatory authorities including the Central Financial Work Commission Office, headquarters of large state-owned commercial banks and joint-stock commercial banks, financial industry associations, and China’s four major asset management companies. Over 120 foreign financial institutions such as UBS and Goldman Sachs have established their presence here.

Occupying merely 0.02% of Beijing’s land area, it contributes roughly 35% of the municipality’s added value of the financial sector and around 70% of its financial tax revenue. Beijing Financial Street has gradually grown into a global financial anchor on par with Wall Street in the United States and the City of London in the UK.

More than 400 guests from over 40 countries and regions attend the conference. People wonder what close ties this place has with China’s financial sector.

It encapsulates the journey of China’s financial industry from small to large and from weak to strong.

Financial Street carries profound historical heritage. From bustling merchants in Jinchengfang of the Yuan Dynasty and thriving silver banks in the Ming and Qing dynasties to today’s forest of skyscrapers, a financial culture with Chinese characteristics has taken root and flourished here.

At the heart of the district, the former shantytown has transformed into a high-end industrial functional zone. The Inblue Center is hailed as "one of the office buildings hosting the world’s top financial institutions". There are 348 listed companies on the Beijing Stock Exchange (BSE), with a total market capitalization of 840 billion yuan.

It acts as a test field for delivering tangible results of the "five major articles of finance".

It supports the development of the Beijing (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei) International Science and Technology Innovation Center. Data from the People’s Bank of China shows that by the end of August this year, the outstanding balance of sci-tech loans rose by 12.3% year-on-year, markedly outpacing the growth rate of all loans. The growth of outstanding loans to small and medium-sized sci-tech enterprises has stayed at around 20% for three consecutive years.

From supporting specialized, sophisticated, unique and innovative SMEs to access the capital market, to exploring paths for high-quality development of pension finance; from promoting the formulation of green finance standards to piloting full-scenario applications of the digital renminbi, the explorations and practices of Financial Street make finance a tangible driving force for development.

It is known as the "weathervane for China’s financial reform and development".

On the basis of continuously consolidating its functions of decision-making and supervision, standard-setting, asset management, payment and settlement, information exchange and international cooperation, the comprehensive capacity of Financial Street as the national financial management center has achieved a leap forward.

During this Annual Conference, national financial regulatory authorities will release a batch of landmark policies, and more than 100 institutional and technological achievements will make their debut. The agenda focuses on national strategies, with hot topics including the Belt and Road Initiative, the "five major articles of finance", coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, patient capital, and the "AI+" initiative.

Zhi Haijie, Secretary of the Xicheng District Party Committee of Beijing, stated that the positioning of Financial Street as the national financial management center determines that it is not merely a market participant, but also an executor of national financial strategies, a promoter of collaborative governance and a safeguard of financial stability.

Building an Ecosystem: Gathering All Factors for Reform and Innovation

The convening of the 2026 Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum carries special significance in the kick-off year of the 15th Five-Year Plan. With a dedicated focus on "jointly fostering a new ecosystem for global financial development", the fundamental role of finance in serving the real economy is given greater prominence.

The forum has newly launched the Insurance Conference and Investment Conference, centering on topics such as the entry of long-term capital into the market and improvement of risk protection mechanisms. It strives to build a more stable and sustainable financial ecosystem, enabling enterprises of different sizes and at various stages to obtain tailored financial support, and allowing all groups to share the dividends of financial development.

In July this year, a fintech application scenario competition was held in the National Fintech Demonstration Zone. Five competition tracks covered new paradigms of AI financial applications and financial digital infrastructure. The winners were unveiled at the Fintech Conference of the Annual Conference.

Over fifteen years, the Financial Street Forum has witnessed the vigorous growth of the National Fintech Demonstration Zone. At present, the zone has gathered 321 fintech enterprises and professional service institutions with registered capital exceeding 160 billion yuan, emerging as a national leading hub for the fintech industry.

Centered on the goal of building a nation with strong finance, Xicheng District, home to Financial Street, has put forward new ideas for high-quality development of the financial sector leveraging its strength in agglomerated financial resources.

A sound ecosystem is fertile ground for the development of the financial industry. Over the next five years, Financial Street will build a capital market ecosystem with the Beijing Stock Exchange at its core and a "technology-industry-finance" circular empowerment ecosystem.

"The essence of finance is to serve the real economy and benefit the people," said Zeng Linfeng, Executive Secretary-General of the Forum Secretariat and Acting District Mayor of Xicheng District. A healthy financial ecosystem must be inclusive and universally beneficial.

"Hard technologies", featuring high R&D investment and long return cycles, pose an epochal challenge for sci-tech finance.

Thanks to financial support from ICBC Beijing Branch, Beijing Guodian Hi-Tech Co., Ltd. achieved innovation breakthroughs in merely two years and was approved to carry out commercial trials for satellite IoT services.

A person in charge of ICBC Beijing Branch said boosting effective supply of sci-tech finance and accompanying innovative enterprises throughout their entire lifecycle is a major direction for financial innovation.

From supporting the "first mile" of sci-tech innovation and injecting financial impetus into green mountains and clear waters, to serving the "last mile" of the real economy and safeguarding people’s well-being of elderly care, Financial Street actively explores a paradigm for high-quality financial development to make more financial services accessible and perceptible.

Building a Hub: Marching toward a Global Financial High Ground

This is an extraordinary land and a financial highland.

When China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, Financial Street became the "preferred destination" for many international financial institutions entering China. Global giants such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase stand side by side with China’s homegrown financial heavyweights, forming an open, diverse, efficient and mutually prosperous ecosystem.

Foreign financial institutions have not only set foot in Financial Street but also demonstrated their resolve for long-term local development through successive capital increases.

In 2025, the Beijing Financial Regulatory Bureau supported HSBC Insurance Brokers Limited in completing six rounds of capital increase, lifting its registered capital from 10 million yuan to 1.978 billion yuan. It has become China’s insurance intermediary institution with the highest paid-in capital.

Foreign financial institutions "voting with their feet" is backed by China’s steadily advancing institutional opening-up in the financial sector.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange supported Beijing in facilitating over 100 multinational corporations to conduct cross-border cash pooling business totaling more than 600 billion US dollars, and high-level opening-up pilot facilitation business for cross-border trade exceeding 330 billion US dollars. Foreign currency exchange service facilities have achieved full coverage at key cultural and tourism venues.

Winds rise from the East, and roads stretch wide toward the world.

The map of open cooperation of Financial Street is evolving from a single node into a global network. At the bilateral level, Financial Street has established a regular interaction mechanism with the City of London, and signed memorandums of understanding respectively with Casablanca Finance City, Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council and Abu Dhabi Global Market.

"We will continue our cooperation, refine relevant frameworks, drive growth and deeper cooperation between enterprises of our two countries, and seize more development opportunities in the future," said Catherine Law, Director of China Development and Market Access Directorate at the UK Department for Business and Trade.

To amplify China’s financial voice worldwide, the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum has attracted representatives from more than 60 countries and regions. Keeping pace with the frontiers of global financial governance, it has hosted the Meeting of Global Systemically Important Financial Institutions, the Belt and Road Financial Cooperation Forum, as well as China-EU and China-Canada financial cooperation forums, continuously expanding its international cooperation circle of friends.

At present, new-generation technologies such as artificial intelligence are profoundly transforming financial services and spurring a host of financial innovations. Promoting connectivity through innovation and pooling strength via opening-up, the forum further consolidates its authority as "China’s platform for voicing opinions in global financial governance" to build a more resilient, dynamic and international modern financial system. Through exchanges and mutual learning, Financial Street will explore broader space and accelerate toward the goal of building a world-class financial center!

Source: Shanghai Securities News