Wu Qing's latest key points: 13 important highlights, 10 sets of significant data

As we enter the first year of the “14th Five-Year Plan,” the Fourth Session of the 14th National People’s Congress has already begun. What detailed arrangements will there be for the reform and development of the capital market? Securities Regulatory Commission Chairman Wu Qing clarified the work tone and action orientation for the new year at today’s economic-themed press conference, using the phrase “New Spring, no slack in urging forward,” especially mentioning five major work directions. According to comprehensive analysis by Cailian Press, Wu Qing’s speech contains 13 key points and reveals six keywords.

1. Improve the market mechanism and ecosystem for long-term funds and investments, enhance the construction of a Chinese-style stable market mechanism, and enrich tools and mechanisms for cross-cycle and counter-cyclical adjustments.

2. Focus on deepening comprehensive reform of investment and financing, further improve the basic system of the capital market, actively develop diverse equity financing, expand multiple exit channels for private equity and venture capital funds, and strengthen the construction of bond, REITs, and asset securitization markets.

3. Add a more precise and inclusive set of listing standards on the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM). Actively support high-quality innovative and entrepreneurial enterprises in new consumption, modern service industries, and other sectors to issue and list on the GEM.

4. Continuously enrich products and tools to serve the development of new quality productivity more accurately and effectively.

5. Steadily develop futures and derivatives markets.

6. Persistently ensure the authenticity of listed companies, further improve investability, perfect incentive and restraint mechanisms, and promote the improvement of corporate governance.

7. Strengthen dividend distribution and share repurchase, continuously enhance investment value and investor returns.

8. Activate the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and restructuring market, promote efficient resource allocation, and help cultivate more world-class enterprises.

9. Adhere to rule of law in market governance, promote the sound legal system of the capital market, and advance market reform and development on the track of the rule of law.

10. Continue to implement the five major regulatory measures, accelerate the digital and intelligent transformation of regulation, and precisely and effectively crack down on financial fraud, market manipulation, insider trading, and other illegal activities.

11. Continuously improve the system for protecting investors’ legitimate rights and interests, effectively enhance investors’ sense of gain.

12. Further promote the two-way opening of market products, service institutions, and other aspects to reach a new level, creating a more transparent, stable, and predictable market environment.

13. Deeply participate in the reform of international financial governance, strengthen cross-border regulatory enforcement activities.

This year marks a critical node as the starting year of the “14th Five-Year Plan.” Many reform contents of the capital market have already been reflected in the 2026 government work report, including “continuing to deepen comprehensive reform of investment and financing, further improving the mechanism for medium- and long-term funds to enter the market, perfecting investor protection systems, expanding exit channels for private equity and venture capital funds, and increasing the proportion of direct and equity financing,” making regulatory actions highly anticipated.

Overall, the tone remains stable; policy tone generally supports the view that the capital market’s steady upward trend is consolidating under multiple factors. In 2026, based on overall stability, policies will focus more on long-term institutional development and tend toward continuous deepening. The core of regulatory direction remains serving the real economy, reflected in the dimension of new quality productivity, with increasing emphasis on investor protection. The phase of attracting medium- and long-term funds into the market is expected to implement and consolidate a series of policies since 2025.

Meanwhile, Wu Qing mentioned ten key data points:

1. During the 14th Five-Year Plan, the stock and bond financing volume on China’s exchanges reached 64 trillion yuan, with the proportion of direct financing rising to 31.97%.

2. During the 14th Five-Year Plan, the proportion of direct financing in China’s capital market increased by 3.2 percentage points compared to the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan.

3. The stock and bond financing scale in China’s exchange market, including IPOs and refinancing, amounted to 5.9 trillion yuan.

4. Total cash dividends in China’s stock market reached 10.7 trillion yuan.

5. As of now, the total market value of China’s A-shares has exceeded 110 trillion yuan.

6. The annual revenue of over 5,400 listed companies in the A-share market exceeds half of the national GDP.

7. Among the constituents of the CSI 300 Index, companies in strategic industries account for 45%.

8. During the 14th Five-Year Plan, holdings of A-shares by public funds, social security, and pension funds increased by over 50%.

9. The number of administrative penalties issued by the CSRC for market manipulation, insider trading, financial fraud, etc., increased by 82% compared to the 13th Five-Year Plan period.

10. The amount of penalties imposed for such violations increased by 39% over the same period.

Keywords 1: Stable Tone

“Stability” is the premise and overall tone of the reform and development of the capital market, and it is the fundamental principle for serving the real economy and preventing and resolving risks. In recent years, regulators have repeatedly emphasized this concept.

According to long-term observations by Cailian Press, on one hand, maintaining market stability involves balancing the relationship between financing and investment, primary and secondary markets, and managing the pace and strength of IPOs and refinancing to keep market liquidity reasonably ample, effectively hedge against internal and external uncertainties, and prevent large fluctuations and abnormal shocks.

On the other hand, it involves building policy expectations of stability by maintaining policy continuity, stability, and predictability, avoiding abrupt policy turns and excessive stimulation, and guiding market expectations through clear, transparent, and consistent policy signals to stabilize market confidence. Additionally, safeguarding against systemic financial risks by firmly maintaining the bottom line of no systemic risks, creating a stable and orderly environment for market reforms.

How to understand the construction of a Chinese-style stable market mechanism? Some viewpoints suggest that it is based on the national conditions of China’s capital market, centered on institutional arrangements for normal stability, not short-term emergency interventions; and that a “stable, not暴涨暴跌” (not rapid rise and fall) market relies on the coordinated efforts of institutions, funds, and regulation.

From Wu Qing’s speech, three logical steps can be identified for this mechanism: focusing on building a long-term funds ecosystem to consolidate financial stability; enriching cross-cycle and counter-cyclical adjustment tools to enhance response capacity; and continuing strict regulation with legal rigidity to safeguard market stability.

Keywords 2: Attract Long-term Funds

Medium- and long-term funds are the “stabilizer” of the capital market. Data shows that during the 14th Five-Year Plan, holdings of A-shares by public funds, social security, and pension funds increased by over 50%.

Wu Qing emphasized developing a sound market mechanism and ecosystem for long-term funds. Specifically, actively developing diverse equity financing, expanding multiple exit channels for private equity and venture capital funds; strengthening bond, REITs, and asset securitization markets; enriching investment and risk management products; and steadily developing futures and derivatives markets to meet corporate and household risk management needs through institutional improvements and product innovation, attracting more long-term funds to provide stable capital support.

The goal of these measures is to unblock the “last mile” for funds entering the market, making long-term funds willing to come, stay, and benefit, thereby using fund stability to hedge market uncertainties and solidify the financial foundation for stable market operation.

Key Point 3: Protect Investment

Investor protection is the cornerstone of healthy market development. The government work report this year specifically tasked the improvement of investor protection systems. Wu Qing also mentioned that during the 14th Five-Year Plan, the capital market will expand financing while continuously improving investor protection mechanisms, allowing investors to share in the benefits of market development.

In recent years, regulators have balanced the rights and interests of both sides of investment and financing through market-oriented and legal means, optimized investor return mechanisms, and ensured that dividend and buyback systems truly benefit investors; through fair trading supervision and information disclosure, maintained fair trading order, protected the rights to information, participation, and claims of small and medium investors, and effectively enhanced their sense of gain and security.

Experts believe that during the “15th Five-Year Plan,” the CSRC is expected to promote investor protection from system improvement to case expansion and routine coverage, accelerate the implementation of typical cases like representative litigation and pre-judgment compensation, expand coverage, and form a regulatory enforcement synergy with judicial authorities.

Keywords 4: Improve Quality

Listed companies are the cornerstone of the capital market; their quality directly determines the investment value and resilience of the market. Focusing on quality improvement and efficiency enhancement, and taking multiple measures to promote high-quality development of listed companies, is a key approach for serving the real economy. Wu Qing stated that during the “15th Five-Year Plan,” the CSRC will prioritize improving the quality of listed companies, insisting on enhancing investability on the basis of strict authenticity, and helping companies move from compliance to quality improvement.

On one hand, perfecting incentive and restraint mechanisms, urging companies to improve corporate governance, and strengthening the implementation of cash dividends and share repurchase systems to continuously enhance investment value and returns; on the other hand, activating M&A and restructuring markets, improving full-chain supervision, and promoting resource concentration in high-quality and efficient sectors to cultivate more world-class enterprises.

The phrase “focusing on authenticity while improving investability” is novel. How to interpret it? Some securities analysts believe that:

Ensuring authenticity is the bottom line for quality building of listed companies. Regulators will continue to monitor core aspects such as information disclosure, financial data, and operational substance, uphold compliance, and build a trustworthy market foundation to protect investors’ right to information and fair trading.

Improving investability is the core goal of quality building. This new phrase precisely targets investment value and investor returns, reflecting the key to coordinated development of investment and financing in the capital market.

Keywords 5: Strict Regulation

Strict regulation is the fundamental guarantee for healthy market development. Adhering to the principles of “building systems, non-intervention, zero tolerance” is an inevitable requirement for maintaining market fairness, justice, and protecting investors’ legitimate rights. During the 14th Five-Year Plan, regulatory enforcement has intensified, with penalties for market manipulation, insider trading, and financial fraud increasing by 82% in number and 39% in amount compared to the 13th Five-Year Plan, accelerating the formation of a fair and transparent market ecology.

Wu Qing mentioned that during the “15th Five-Year Plan,” the CSRC will uphold rule of law in market governance, regard regulation enforcement as a core function, and continue to strengthen without weakening, enhancing the effectiveness and deterrence of regulation. The clear stance of “not weakening, only strengthening” indicates that future regulation will continue with strict, comprehensive oversight to rectify market chaos.

Keywords 6: Expand Opening-up

High-level opening-up is an essential path for enhancing the competitiveness of the capital market. Currently, international investors’ diversified asset allocation needs are growing, China’s asset attractiveness is steadily rising, creating favorable conditions for two-way opening-up. Wu Qing stated that during the “15th Five-Year Plan,” the CSRC will focus on creating a market-oriented, rule-of-law, and international first-class business environment, improving cross-border investment and financing convenience, and advancing two-way opening-up to a new level.

Just before the National Two Sessions, the CSRC also held a symposium with foreign institutions on the “14th Five-Year Plan” for the capital market. Wu Qing reiterated that the direction will remain market-oriented, rule of law-based, and internationalized, using reforms of the STAR Market and ChiNext as leverage to deepen comprehensive reform, further improve the system, products, and services of the capital market, and enhance inclusiveness, adaptability, attractiveness, and competitiveness to better serve technological innovation and new quality productivity development.

(Source: Cailian Press)