China turns up heat with regulators, banks under the microscope amid focus on financial revamp

Vital economic and financial regulators, as well state-owned banks, will be targetted as part of a round of discipline inspections

Inspections will focus on vital finance and economy-related entities, said anti-corruption body chief Li Xi, amid Beijing’s focus on a financial reshuffle

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Li Xi, the head of the central leading group on disciplinary inspection, speaks at a meeting on Monday. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 6:00am, 10 Apr 2024Updated: 9:21am, 10 Apr 2024

China has initiated a new round of inspections on major economic and financial regulators, as well as the big four state-owned banks, marking the latest step in Beijing’s revamp to keep close tabs on the sprawling industry.

The 34 targets of the discipline inspections – a routine tool to identify corruption and ensure government agencies toe the Communist Party line, include China’s central bank, its banking, securities and foreign exchange regulators, the top economic planner and the finance ministry, the state-backed Xinhua News Agency said on Monday.

China’s five largest state banks – the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, the Bank of China, China Construction Bank and the Bank of Communications – two state-owned insurers and the Export-Import Bank of China will also open their doors for reviews by the the country’s top anti-corruption body.

They are the first inspections since President Xi Jinping said fending off financial risks were the “eternal theme” for Beijing and brought forward his financial superpower vision – with a variety of regulatory criteria and requirements in the pipeline – at the central financial work conference in October.

The financial sector, including regulatory bodies and financial service firms, has traditionally been a key target for Beijing’s anti-corruption drive.