China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange has announced that it will expand high-level institutional opening-up and deepen facilitation reforms in the foreign exchange sector this year, according to the administration's annual work conference on Monday and Tuesday.
In 2026, further measures will be taken to streamline trade-related foreign exchange procedures, expand pilot programs for high-level openness in cross-border trade in an orderly manner, broaden the application scenarios of cross-border financial services platforms, and enhance support for new forms of trade, including cross-border e-commerce.
The administration will also support financial institutions to develop user-friendly hedging products and enhance the service levels of forex market infrastructure.
It will roll out policies governing outbound lending and domestic foreign currency loan management, and implement its integrated cross-border fund management policy for multinational companies nationwide in both local and foreign currencies.
Efforts will also be made to reinforce foreign exchange regulation and ensure it is adaptable to a higher level of openness, the conference said.
China to expand institutional opening-up of forex market in 2026
China's Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao outlined the key priorities of the 32nd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting, which opened on Friday in Suzhou, East China's Jiangsu province.
In an interview with CGTN ahead of the two-day meeting, Wang said free trade, digital cooperation and green economy are high on the agenda of the meeting.
"The key areas include advancing regional economic integration and the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific, supporting the World Trade Organization (WTO) in strengthening digital cooperation and developing green economy. At present, the international situation is marked by intertwined turbulence and chaos, with intensified geopolitical instability. The rise of unilateralism and protectionism poses serious challenges to the international economic and trade order, disrupting global and Asia-Pacific development. Against this backdrop, all parties have higher expectations for this trade ministers' meeting, hoping that it can build consensus and deliver outcomes," Wang said.
This year marks China's third time hosting the APEC meetings and the 35th anniversary of its membership.
By 2025, China had become the largest trading partner of 13 APEC economies. Trade between China and APEC economies reached 3.7 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for 57.8 percent of China's total foreign trade.
China has signed 24 free trade agreements or economic and trade arrangements with 31 countries and regions, including 15 APEC economies. In recent years, China has also completed upgrades of free trade agreements with APEC economies such as Singapore and Peru.
The minister said that China has always been a firm supporter and an important contributor to APEC.
"We have actively shared our vast market and development opportunities with all parties. China's door to the world will only open wider and wider. Facing the common challenges, China will continue to fulfill its responsibilities as a major country, further deepen reform, expand high-standard opening-up, and continue to provide new opportunities for the Asia-Pacific region and the world with its new achievements in Chinese modernization," the minister said.
China's Commerce Minister outlines priorities for 32nd APEC trade ministers' meeting
