China's securities regulator has pledged to prioritize market stability and resolutely prevent sharp fluctuations as a core objective for 2026, aiming to consolidate sound development of the capital market.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) made the commitment at its annual work conference on Thursday, where the regulator reviewed the past year's performance and outlined key tasks for 2026.
In 2025, listed companies distributed a combined total of 2.68 trillion yuan (about 380 billion U.S. dollars) in cash dividends and share buybacks throughout the year, further consolidating the momentum for high-quality development.
Initial public offerings (IPOs) and follow-on offerings reached a combined 1.26 trillion yuan, while the exchange bond market issued various bonds totaling 16.3 trillion yuan.
Eighteen futures and options products were smoothly listed, demonstrating the robust functioning of the multi-tiered capital market.
The meeting emphasized that while the capital market currently shows stable and sound performance, it still faces complex and severe challenges posed by intertwined domestic and external risks as well as the overlapping of persisting and emerging issues.
Efforts will be made to effectively enhance the intrinsic stability of the market, the CSRC said, adding that it will rigorously investigate and punish excessive speculation, market manipulation, and other illegal activities to prevent sharp market fluctuations.
It will work to foster a market ecosystem where "long-term capital engages in long-term investment," the regulator said, pledging efforts to broaden the channels for medium and long-term capital inflows, introduce various products and risk management tools suited to long-term investment, and actively guide long-term, rational and value-based investment.
It also vowed to enhance the inclusiveness and adaptability of the multi-tiered equity market, crack down on illegal activities such as financial fraud, price manipulation and insider trading, and enhance corporate governance among listed firms.
The CSRC will advance the two-way opening up of the capital market in 2026.
Efforts will be made to expedite the implementation of the optimized Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor scheme, expand the scope of futures products accessible to foreign investors, and enhance the facilitation of cross-border investment and financing, the regulator said.
China's securities regulator stresses market stability in 2026 work plan
China's securities regulator stresses market stability in 2026 work plan
China's securities regulator stresses market stability in 2026 work plan
Colombians are heading to the polls on Sunday to elect their next president. The country's constitution prevents the current President, Gustavo Petro, from running for a second term.
Yet, many see this election as a referendum on the policies of Gustavo Petro, Colombia's first leftist president.
There are 14 candidates on Sunday's ballot, but the polls show it will likely be a tight three-way race.
The frontrunner is Ivan Cepeda, a 63-year-old three-term senator, representing President Gustavo Petro's party, the Historic Pact coalition. Cepeda has vowed to defend and deepen Petro's progressive reforms and social justice policies to reduce inequality. He also promises to continue the government's controversial "Total Peace" strategy to negotiate the disarmament of remaining guerrilla groups and criminal gangs.
"True prosperity comes from equality, from access to rights, and from transforming the peripheral and excluded territories of the rural world," Cepeda said at a campaign rally.
Running as a political outsider and independent is Abelardo de la Espriella, a 47-year-old lawyer, nicknamed "The Tiger." He has presented himself as the "authority and order" candidate who will reduce state spending by up to 40 percent in the next four years.
"(First,) we must fight insecurity. Colombia is suffering today from a pandemic of insecurity. Crime is out of control: extortion, cattle theft, smuggling, drug trafficking," he said to his supporters at an election event.
According to polls, the third candidate with strong support is Paloma Valencia. The 48-year-old senator represents the Democratic Center party led by popular former President Alvaro Uribe Velez. Her candidacy is backed by politicians and economists who are concerned with growing levels of public debt. They want to see a return to more conservative fiscal policies.
"I don't want to be a president who governs alone, locked away in glass offices. I want to be a president who stands with citizens, who embraces them, who reaches out to them, who has a team, and who governs to transform Colombia," the candidate said at the campaign event
According to polls earlier in the year, many voters are expressing concerns about unemployment, rising living costs, corruption, and, above all, public security.
The election comes after a turbulent year that the International Committee of the Red Cross has called "the worst humanitarian consequences of armed conflict over the past decade."
"(We arrive at this election in a tense atmosphere - tense) because of the economic situation, because of the security situation, and because of the narratives that have been built around the country's main problems. On top of that, emotions, ideas and social media have all helped raise (the tone,)" said Eduardo Velosa, associate professor from International Studies Javeriana University.
If no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote, a runoff election will be held between the top two finishers on June 21st.
Colombians prepare to choose their next president
