Stories of High-Quality Development | Boosting financial services in five fields, advancing high-quality development of the financial sector

What is something you can't see or touch, yet has the remarkable ability to allocate resources across time and space — something essential to both our daily lives and the development of the country?

"The answer is finance," said Yin Yanlin, deputy director of the Economic Committee of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, when hosting People's Daily's video series "Stories of High-Quality Development."

Finance not only provides an efficient and convenient safety net for people's lives, but it is also the lifeblood of the national economy and a key part of a country's core competitiveness, Yin added.

The Recommendations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) for Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, adopted at the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, clearly put forward the strategic goal of working faster to boost China's strength in finance. It also emphasized that the country should step up efforts to develop sci-tech finance, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance and digital finance.

From the central financial work conference in 2023, where "boosting financial services in five fields" was first put forward, to the fourth plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, which called for vigorous efforts to advance them, financial services in the five fields are now charting a new course for finance with Chinese characteristics, Yin noted.

Sci-tech finance empowers space exploration

In October this year, a commercial rocket stood ready for launch in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province. Over the decades, China's commercial aerospace industry has developed rapidly, with its industrial chain demonstrating robust vitality.

However, the path of entrepreneurship in this field remains challenging, as rocket development itself requires massive investments and involves prolonged cycles.

"Rocket and satellite companies alike face the same fundamental challenge throughout their early years: securing funding," said Fan Na, vice president of CAS Space. With cooperation with China Minsheng Bank, the Lijian-1 carrier rocket has now moved into mass production and regular launch services.

"When we evaluate a company, we don't focus on the small numbers; we look at the big picture," said Wang Lei, president of Beijing Pilot Free Trade Zone High-End Industries Area Sub-Branch of China Minsheng Bank. "First, the team. Second, the technology. Third, the market potential of the product. We constantly refine our approach, translating technical jargon into financial solutions, and boldly exploring innovations like intellectual property pledges, venture loans and other models, ultimately designing solutions that truly fit these companies."

For sci-tech companies reaching for space, finance is the fuel that powers their journey.

"To boost sci-tech finance and develop new quality productive forces, we need to provide full-chain and full-lifecycle financial services for sci-tech companies," said Yin.

Green finance safeguards grassland ecology

Yaks have been the lifeblood of families for generations on the plateau in Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in northwestern Sichuan Province, where pastoral communities thrive at an average altitude of over 3,500 meters. Every year, at the turn of winter and spring, the plateau is often struck by sudden blizzards, posing a life-or-death challenge to the yaks.

This past March, heavy snowfall caused Huang Minghua, a herder in Mupo township, Xiaojin county in Aba, to lose 48 yaks.

"Upon receiving a phone call from Huang, following insurance rules and ecological protection requirements, we transferred insurance compensation to Huang's account in three days," recalled An Dong, business director of the Aba Central Sub-Branch at China United Property Insurance Co., Ltd. "We've explained the dangers of overgrazing to herders and the benefits of keeping livestock numbers in balance with the grasslands. Although the number of yaks has decreased, the survival rate has improved."

Now, Huang's perspective is also shifting. "In the past, when I herded cattle, I saw only the cattle. Now, when I herd cattle, I see the grass, the mountains, and the water. That's what truly living is all about," Huang said.

"Through green finance, the grasslands are being rejuvenated as herders take an active role in protecting them, while also receiving both ecological and economic rewards," Yin said. To develop green finance and accelerate a comprehensive green transition in economic and social development, we need to refine the policies, standards and products of green finance, direct more resources to green and low-carbon sectors, and provide strong support for sustainable growth and the efforts to achieve peak carbon emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.

Inclusive finance boosts coffee cultivation, improves farmers' livelihoods

Finance can not only turn green resources into wealth but also provide timely support and improve people's livelihoods.

Thanks to its high altitude and significant temperature variations, Menglian Dai, Lahu, and Wa Autonomous County in Pu'er city, southwest China's Yunnan Province, has become an ideal location for cultivating high-quality coffee.

With coffee prices rising year by year and this year's rainfall impacting production, the funding requirements for various stages — from cultivation to procurement — have also increased.

"When we learned that villagers had no collateral, we offered credit-based loans to 58 affected farm households, with a maximum of 100,000 yuan ($14,100) per household," said Li Jia, deputy president of Menglian Dai, Lahu and Wa Autonomous County Sub-Branch at the Agricultural Bank of China. Responding to funding needs across the supply chain, the bank tapped into credit, government credit reporting, and other guarantee mechanisms to optimize financial products and services for farmers, eventually launching the "rural revitalization coffee loan."

Inclusive finance benefits the daily lives of countless farming households while contributing to broader economic development. Today, Menglian's coffee beans have become income-boosting "gold beans," sending the aroma of Yunnan coffee to the world.

According to Yin, to further develop inclusive finance and enhance people's quality of life, we need to focus on key areas affecting people's livelihoods, develop a wide range of financial products, and make financial services more inclusive. The principle of "finance for the people, benefiting the people, serving the people, and offering convenience to the people" should be turned into a concrete practice.

Pension finance brightens older adults' golden years

At 10 a.m. at Pacific Care Home in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, 92-year-old Wang Shunlai puts on a volunteer vest, pins on his prosecutor's badge and begins explaining legal provisions and solving problems for his neighbors.

Wang began his career as a household registration policeman carrying a canvas bag through the streets and eventually became a chief prosecutor, leading a team honored as a "National Anti-Corruption Advanced Unit." A veteran of the judicial, procuratorial and public security systems, he has spent half his life working with the law. He has been awarded the National May 1 Labor Medal and recognized as one of China's 10 outstanding prosecutors. In retirement, he and his wife have increasingly prioritized the quality of their later years. Seeking a comfortable place to enjoy their retirement, they made Pacific Care Home in Wuhan their new home.

"At my age, I'm grateful that I can still live independently without burdening my children," said Wang. "Beyond maintaining an optimistic attitude and cheerful disposition, having solid living support is also crucial. I have three meals a day in the cafeteria, regular housekeeping for my room, and convenient access to medical care. The age-friendly facilities are also excellent."

According to Wei Lin, deputy general manager of China Pacific Life Insurance Co., Ltd., CPIC is actively responding to the national strategy for addressing population aging and has become deeply involved in the "three-pillar" old-age insurance system, bringing better products and services to more people.

"A single insurance policy does more than provide care and security in old age; it also provides a new platform for older people to enjoy life and find fulfillment," said Yin. To develop pension finance and address the aging population, efforts are needed to expand the supply of financial products for eldercare and better meet the diversifying needs for pension finance.

Digital finance eases access to medical care

At dawn, as the plains in western Sichuan still slumbered, Sichuan Provincial People's Hospital was already bustling with activity. The fingers of Zeng Xiaohong, director of the Finance Department, danced swiftly across the keyboard.

Here, every second counts when it comes to health. This spring, the Smart Health Care platform was integrated into the hospital's operations. Since the platform went live, the hospital's financial operations efficiency has improved dramatically. Tasks that previously required seven people can now be handled by just one.

To enhance the user experience, staff conducted surveys and compiled nine categories of Q&A guides, covering areas such as user management and handling abnormal bills. These were developed into a database of over 30 common questions and answers, which were then uploaded to the platform. As a result, the average time to find an answer was reduced from 63 seconds to under 12 seconds, explained Zhao Liang, director of the Corporate Banking Platform Operations Team of the Platform Operations Center at China Construction Bank. These digital operational measures make every financial reconciliation smarter and every medical expense refund smoother. Each gain in capital flow efficiency helps ease people's minds.

Supporting these caring services is the underlying technology.

According to Chen Chao, vice president of Huawei Kunpeng Computing Industry, by leveraging a distributed banking core system and computational infrastructure, enhanced with proprietary innovations such as natural language processing, dynamic knowledge base construction, and cross-system data interaction, the efficiency of each service is significantly boosted. The integration of digital technology and finance has given rise to a stream of intelligent vitality that serves countless industries.

When finance is stable, the economy is stable; when finance thrives, the economy thrives.

Boosting financial services in five fields should adhere to a people-centered approach, advance the development of finance with Chinese characteristics, and contribute to building China into a strong country and achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through high-quality financial development, said Yin.