Report on the Development of the Financial Industry in China's Special Economic Zones in 2019

Abstract

In 2018, under the dual factors of intensified Sino-US trade frictions and the continued decline of economic growth, although the scale of the financial industry in the special economic zones continued to expand, its momentum slowed down significantly; although the quality of development got improved, the differentiation increased significantly; although the risks were controllable, the hidden worries were not completely eliminated; although the intensity of “disconnecting with the virtual economy” was not small, the progress of “connecting with the real economy” was still relatively slow; although there were many problems on the way to moving forward, the pace of opening up was not stalled. Looking ahead to 2019, the financial industry in the special economic zones will continue to be operated under both internal and external constraints. There will be favorable business opportunities brought about by factors such as economic adjustment, financial reform, improvement of the operating environment, financial technology innovation, mergers and reorganizations, and increased opening-up. There will also be challenges such as difficulties in scale-up, improving quality and efficiency, adapting to changes, and managing and controlling risks. In 2019, in order to achieve impressive development achievements, the financial industry of the special economic zones must focus on the six words “real”, “light”, “new”, “stable”, “comprehensive”, and “cross”.