China to use ultra-long special treasury bond funds to support key works in 2025

China will increase the issuance of ultra-long special treasury bonds in 2025 to support large-scale equipment upgrades, consumer goods trade-in programs, and the implementation of major projects, an official from the country's top economic planner said Friday.

Yuan Da, deputy secretary-general of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), announced the plans at a press briefing in Beijing and said further fiscal stimulus measures would be taken in order to implement major national strategies, build security capacity in key areas, and expand large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-in programs.

"This year, we will increase the issuance of ultra-long special treasury bonds to more vigorously support the implementation of major national strategies and building of security capacity in key areas. Firstly, we will put more efforts into construction. We will continue supporting key tasks like the green development and the ecological and the environmental protection of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the construction of the new western land-sea corridor, building public service systems for eligible people who move from rural to urban areas, and enhancing the quality of higher education," he said.

"Secondly, we will focus on both the implementation of projects and the improvement of mechanism. We will continue implementing projects in parallel with making related reforms, speed up the promotion of innovation in systems, mechanisms and policy making. Continuous efforts will also be made to improve the funding mechanism so as to enhance the overall investment efficiency. Thirdly, we will accelerate our work. Last year, we issued a project list that will be supported by 100 billion yuan (about 14 billion U.S. dollars) in ultra-long special treasury bond funds this year and will soon issue another project list so that tangible results will be made as soon as possible," added Yuan.

The official also noted that further efforts will be made to boost consumer goods trade-in programs, which are seen as part of China's efforts to boost domestic demand and support economic growth, while more steps will be made to enable large-scale equipment upgrades, review subsidies, and streamline approval procedures to help benefit businesses.

"This year, we will significantly increase the ultra-long special treasury bond funds to scale up the implementation of the large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-in programs. Firstly, we will expand the upgrades and the programs, equipment used in the fields like electronic information, safe production, and industrialized agriculture will be encompassed into the equipment upgrades. Secondly, we will raise the subsidy standards. The subsidy standards for the renewal of new energy city buses and power cells as well as the renewal of agricultural machinery will be raised. We will also increase support for the trade-in program of home furnishing consumer goods. Thirdly, we will streamline the approval procedures of equipment upgrades so as to provide more convenience to the business entities who have such needs," said Yuan.

China to use ultra-long special treasury bond funds to support key works in 2025

China to use ultra-long special treasury bond funds to support key works in 2025

China is set to further deepen its high-standard financial opening up with a commitment to market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized principles, People's Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Pan Gongsheng said Friday.

The scale of foreign participation in China's financial markets has reached historic milestones, according to Pan, who spoke at a press conference on the sidelines of the fourth session of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC).

"The level of financial opening up continues to rise. By the end of last year, the total value of domestic RMB-denominated financial assets -- including stocks, bonds, deposits, and loans -- held by overseas institutions and individuals exceeded 10 trillion yuan. In 2025 alone, various governments, international development agencies, financial institutions, and large enterprises issued over 170 billion yuan in Panda bonds. The outstanding amount of Panda bonds has increased by 34 percent year on year," said the central bank governor.

Beyond asset holdings, the Renminbi's role as a global currency has been further solidified. It is now not only a preferred choice for China's own external transactions but also a vital component of the global financial architecture, according to Pan.

"Calculated on a comparable basis, the RMB has become the largest settlement currency for China's external receipts and payments. Globally, it ranks as the second-largest trade finance currency and the third-largest payment currency. Its weight in the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights (SDR) currency basket also ranks third. This progress has facilitated cross-border trade and investment while helping to reduce exchange rate risks and conversion costs," he said.

Looking ahead, the central bank is committed to a steady expansion of high-standard financial opening-up to serve the country's high-quality development and foster a more resilient global financial governance system, said Pan.

"We will continue to promote high-standard opening up of financial services and markets. Adhering to market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized principles, we will enhance the transparency, stability, and predictability of our financial opening-up policies. We will further improve the interconnectivity between domestic and overseas financial markets and cross-border payment systems to enhance the convenience of trade and investment. Furthermore, we will advance RMB internationalization in an orderly manner, develop offshore RMB markets, support the construction of Shanghai as an international financial center, and consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's status as a global financial hub," he said.

China to further expand financial opening up: central bank governor