Wu Qing, Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), stated in a keynote speech at the 2026 Financial Street Forum Annual Conference on October 19 that the commission will further improve capital market functions balancing investment and financing, and continuously enhance market resilience and confidence. Specific measures include fully safeguarding the safe and stable operation of the capital market, expanding sources, channels and access routes for medium- and long-term capital; further refining mechanisms for identifying and screening tech enterprises, releasing the newly revised Administrative Measures for the Registration of Securities Issuance by Listed Companies and supporting rules at an appropriate time, and accelerating the introduction of the Regulations on the Supervision of Listed Companies; setting up a fund industry operation monitoring center, and issuing and implementing guidelines on the safe and compliant application of artificial intelligence in the securities and futures sector; improving the convenience of investment and operation for Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) and supporting more foreign institutions to invest and conduct business in China.
On the same day, the CSRC granted registration for the first batch of 18 active ETFs to bring incremental capital into the market. It rolled out revised rules governing penalties for illegal share reduction to enforce crackdowns on such violations in a more targeted and effective manner, and formulated and issued guidance on advance compensation in the securities market to better protect the legitimate rights and interests of small and medium-sized investors. In addition, focusing on building the capital market as a main platform serving innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the CSRC will steadily launch a package of initiatives including the BSE 50 ETF, market-value placement for new shares on the Beijing Stock Exchange (BSE), innovative evaluation criteria, and optimized tiered management of the National Equities Exchange and Quotations (NEEQ).
Fully Address Multiple Unexpected Imported Risks and Challenges
Wu Qing noted that this year marks the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. The CSRC has thoroughly implemented the national 15th Five-Year Plan and the new Nine Guidelines for the Capital Market. It is striving to tackle multiple unexpected imported risks and challenges, and promotes risk prevention, enhanced regulation and high-quality development in an integrated way. Fundamental market systems have been gradually improved, the whole-chain regulatory framework steadily refined, and comprehensive investment and financing reforms continuously pushed forward. The capital market is fostering new growth drivers, pursuing optimized structure and sounder ecosystem, delivering returns to investors effectively and strongly underpinning high-quality socioeconomic development.
Statistics show that listed companies posted a combined operating revenue of 37.7 trillion yuan and net profit of 3.6 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, up 19.5% year on year, hitting a three-year high. Dividends and share buybacks reached 2.1 trillion yuan within the year, 2.7 times the total amount raised through IPOs and seasoned offerings over the same period.
“The marked improvement in the investment value of listed companies has not only consolidated the foundation for the steady and sound development of the capital market, but also demonstrated the confidence and vitality of China’s high-quality economic development,” Wu Qing said.
Further Inclusive Reforms of the Capital Market
“China’s macro policies are delivering stronger effects, innovation-driven momentum keeps releasing. The supporting conditions and fundamental trend of the Chinese economy shifting toward new growth drivers and better quality and maintaining long-term positive momentum remain robust. The underlying logic governing capital market operations has undergone profound changes quietly, and the allocation value of Chinese assets has become more prominent,” Wu Qing stressed. For the current period and some time ahead, the CSRC will follow the general working tone of making progress while maintaining stability, steadily deliver its own tasks, further improve capital market functions that coordinate investment and financing, and keep lifting market resilience and confidence.
Wu Qing said that to fully maintain the safe and stable operation of the capital market, the CSRC will closely track domestic and overseas market developments, strengthen risk assessment and policy tool reserves, refine market stabilization mechanisms, guard against risks arising from new-type businesses, stay highly alert to new risk points such as overseas leveraged products linked to individual A-share stocks, and continuously reinforce the risk defence lines of the capital market.
Efforts will be made to develop long-cycle assessment mechanisms suited to long-term investment, expand sources, channels and entry modes for medium- and long-term capital, deepen reforms on public offering funds, and strengthen stabilizing forces in the market. Qualified listed companies will be encouraged to scale up share buybacks and share increase to better reward investors.
On advancing inclusive capital market reforms, the CSRC will focus on supporting the development of new-quality productive forces, fully implement reform measures for the Sci-Tech Innovation Board and ChiNext Board, and further refine mechanisms for identifying and screening technology enterprises. It will research and push forward reforms of the multi-tiered market, and adopt more inclusive and adaptable systems for IPO, merger and acquisition and restructuring. Reforms on seasoned offerings will be deepened, and the newly revised Administrative Measures for the Registration of Securities Issuance by Listed Companies and supporting rules will be released at an opportune time.
“In this process, we will accelerate the promulgation of the Regulations on the Supervision of Listed Companies, improve institutional arrangements covering corporate governance, information disclosure and investor protection, and foster a larger pool of high-quality listed firms. We will press ahead with the action plan for high-quality development of securities companies, support industry mergers, acquisitions and follow-up consolidation, and speed up building world-class investment banks,” Wu Qing remarked.
Cultivate a Standard, Healthy Market Ecosystem
Wu Qing said the CSRC will nurture a well-regulated and healthy market ecosystem, fully implement the “Five Pillars of Regulation”, further strengthen institutional supply, and resolutely uphold an open, fair and impartial market order.
He introduced that the CSRC will roll out four initiatives in the near term. First, it will set up a fund industry operation monitoring center to take charge of private equity fund share registration, information collection for public and private funds, and risk monitoring, so as to improve the effectiveness of risk prevention and regulation for the fund sector. Second, it will issue and implement guidelines on the safe and compliant application of AI in the securities and futures industry, refine regulatory norms covering business development and data security, promote safe and efficient application of AI in key scenarios such as risk control and investment research, and guide technology to benefit society. Third, it will revise penalty rules for illegal share reduction, adhere to the principle of penalties commensurate with offences without over-punishment or under-punishment, refine identification standards, and conduct more precise and effective crackdowns on illegal share reduction. Fourth, it will formulate and release guidance on advance compensation in the securities market, further clarifying eligible parties and implementation procedures to enable lawful, convenient and efficient advance compensation and better protect legitimate rights and interests of small and medium-sized investors.
Wu Qing said the CSRC will boost cross-border investment and financing facilitation from the dimensions of markets, institutions and products, and enhance the attractiveness and predictability of opening-up arrangements. It will streamline investment and operation procedures for QFIIs, and support domestic and foreign institutions to jointly launch more indices and products based on Chinese assets.
Meanwhile, foreign institutions are encouraged to leverage the professional expertise and group strengths of their parent firms to optimize product portfolios and participate in innovative businesses, with support for more foreign institutions to invest and operate in China. The new “Five Coordination” model for Mainland-Hong Kong market cooperation will be put into practice. Work will be accelerated on the RMB stock trading counter and the inclusion of REITs into the Stock Connect schemes. The CSRC will take an active part in governance reforms of international financial organizations, promote regulatory coordination on priority issues including AI governance, financial stability and sustainable finance, and contribute more Chinese proposals and wisdom.
“Since the establishment of the Beijing Stock Exchange five years ago, a cluster of specialized, sophisticated, distinctive and innovative enterprises has taken shape. The number of listed firms and total market capitalization have more than tripled from the bourse’s opening, while trading volume has surged nearly tenfold. The BSE has achieved important leaps from a newly launched market to one with basically mature institutions and a well-rounded ecosystem,” Wu Qing said. Going forward, centering on its positioning as the main platform serving innovative SMEs, the BSE will steadily introduce the BSE 50 ETF, market-value placement for new shares, innovative evaluation criteria and optimized tiered management of the NEEQ, so as to advance the integrated high-quality development of the BSE and the NEEQ.
The CSRC will also ramp up support for deep integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation, back Beijing Haidian and other regions to pilot sci-tech finance practices in the capital market, promote the establishment of the Beijing Capital Market Society, amplify the agglomeration effect of factors, institutions and talent, lift the development capacity of Beijing’s capital market, and better serve the high-quality development of the capital’s economy.
Source: Shanghai Securities News
