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Opinion

More Effective and Higher-Quality Financial Support for the Real Economy

In the first quarter of this year, China's financial operations demonstrated a positive trend characterized by stable aggregate volumes, optimized structures, and improved quality and efficiency. According to the latest financial statistics released by the People's Bank of China, the total social financing stock stood at RMB 456.46 trillion at the end of March, a year-on-year increase of 7.9 percent. Among this, outstanding RMB loans issued to the real economy reached RMB 277.3 trillion, growing 5.8 percent year-on-year. In terms of structure, outstanding RMB loans to the real economy accounted for 60.7 percent of the total social financing stock at the end of March.

This achievement is attributed to the sustained implementation of moderately accommodative monetary policies, the continuous enhancement of structural monetary policy tools, and the banking sector's focus on high-quality credit allocation.

Shifting toward the agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. In the first quarter, agriculture-related loans maintained a steady and reasonable scale. This is not only a necessary requirement for ensuring national food security but also a key pillar for advancing comprehensive rural revitalization and consolidating the foundation for common prosperity.

Concentrating on industrial sectors. The manufacturing industry is the backbone of the nation and the foundation of its strength. The "15th Five-Year Plan" outline explicitly calls for accelerating the construction of a manufacturing powerhouse. In the first quarter, financial resources continued to concentrate on national strategic sectors such as advanced manufacturing, new energy, intelligent equipment, and high technology.

Transforming toward system optimization. At present, the financing structure of China's financial market is undergoing profound changes. As China's economic structure undergoes transformation and upgrading, and financing channels in the financial market become more diversified, the proportion and growth rate of credit have declined. However, the credit extended is now of higher quality and more targeted, with the efficiency and quality of support for the real economy continuously improving.

Policy

1. The Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration for Market Regulation issued an action plan on April 23, proposing a five-year initiative to advance the standardization of the service trade. The plan focuses on accelerating the development of standards and systems in areas such as tourism services, maritime trade digitalization, and digital trade.

2. Starting May 1, two mandatory national standards, the requirements for real-name registration and activation of civil unmanned aerial vehicles and the specifications for operation identification of civil unmanned aerial vehicle systems will be implemented nationwide, marking the beginning of an era of full-process traceable management for drones.

Data

1. In the first quarter of this year, the value-added output of major agricultural and sideline food processing enterprises grew by 6.8 percent year-on-year, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Online retail sales of agricultural products maintained relatively fast growth, and rural industries that boost household incomes developed steadily. The per capita disposable income of rural residents increased by 5.4 percent in real terms.

2. From January to March, Shenzhen¡¯s actual utilized foreign capital reached approximately RMB 17 billion, a year-on-year increase of more than 47 percent, according to the Shenzhen Investment Promotion Bureau. More than 2,700 new foreign-invested enterprises were established in the city during the period, representing a year-on-year rise of over 15 percent.

3. Xiong'an New Area recorded a total foreign trade value of RMB 20.55 billion in the first quarter, a year-on-year surge of 17.6 times, according to Xiong'an Customs, which released the data on April 25.

4. In the first quarter of 2026, Xizang autonomous region's gross domestic product (GDP) reached RMB 77.807 billion, up 6.1 percent year-on-year at constant prices, maintaining the fastest growth rate among all provincial-level regions in China, according to official data.

5. April 26 saw the inaugural flight of China Southern Airline's C919 from Guangzhou to Hefei. The aircraft, named "Greater Bay Area" and operating as flight CZ3813, landed in Hefei after taking off from Guangzhou, marking the start of regular service. Hefei is now the 23rd Chinese city to welcome the homegrown C919 jet.

6. China delivered its biggest independently designed and built liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier to date on April 26, marking a breakthrough in the country's ability to build large vessels for clean energy transport. The carrier, Celsius Georgetown, departed for Singapore after completing delivery at a dock of China Merchants Heavy Industry (Jiangsu) Co., Ltd.

7. April 26 marks the 26th World Intellectual Property Day. As of the end of March, China had 5.53 million valid domestic invention patents, of which more than 2.29 million were high-value invention patents. About 70 percent of these high-value patents come from strategic emerging industries. China currently holds 61 percent of the world's artificial intelligence patents.

8. As of April 27, the central corridor of the China-Europe railway service handled 1,515 trains and transported 144,900 TEUs of goods, up 19.7 percent and 12.3 percent year-on-year, respectively, according to railway authorities.

9. China's electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure continued to expand rapidly, with the total number of charging points reaching 21.481 million by the end of March 2026, up 46.9 percent year-on-year, according to the data from the national charging infrastructure monitoring and service platform.

10. In the first quarter of this year, major industrial enterprises nationwide recorded total profits of RMB 1.69604 trillion, marking a year-on-year increase of 15.5 percent and indicating a continued improvement in corporate earnings, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on April 27 shows.

(Source: Economic Daily)