(Yicai) March 7 -- China's securities watchdog plans further reform and opening-up of the nation’s capital market to attract more mid-to-long-term funds into stocks, according to its chairman.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission will deepen the institutional reforms of Shanghai’s Star Market, Shenzhen’s ChiNext Board, and the Beijing Stock Exchange, among other measures, Wu Qing said yesterday at an press conference of top economic officials during the annual National People's Congress in Beijing.

The goal is to establish effective checks and balances between small and mid-sized investors and the major shareholders or actual controllers of publicly traded companies, Wu noted. In addition, the CSRC intends to revise a series of regulations to strengthen the responsibilities of financial market intermediaries as “gatekeepers,” he said.

The CSRC also aims to address obstacles hindering the stock market entry of mid-to-long-term funds, including social security, insurance, and wealth management funds, Wu said. It will steadily expand high-level institutional opening-up, improve the applications system for overseas listings by Chinese firms, and expand the channels for cross-border capital flows, he noted.

Promoting and attracting mid-to-long-term funds into the market is a systematic project that requires the cooperation of multiple parties, Qi Shi, NPC deputy and chairman of East Money Information, told Yicai.

It not only necessitates opening the door for funds, but also entails improving various supportive policies to ensure that these funds can preserve and increase their value, Qi pointed out.

More Support for Innovative Firms

Wu also mentioned support for sci-tech companies, especially the need to improve and fully utilize various listing systems to precisely support high-quality companies in issuing and listing shares as well as address existing bottlenecks.

The CSRC plans to continuously improve the rules for private equity and venture capital funds, streamline the various exit channels for these funds, and achieve a virtuous cycle of capital flow, Wu noted.

In addition to supporting their stock listings, the watchdog will implement institutional reforms to help innovative and high-tech enterprises secure financing through various means, such as bonds, convertible bonds, and preferred shares, thereby providing them with more comprehensive and efficient capital market services, Wu said.

“DeepSeek's emergence in the global artificial intelligence field has not only shocked the AI industry, but also led the world to a new understanding of China's scientific and technological innovation capabilities, driving a reassessment of the value of Chinese assets,” Wu noted.

He added that the CSRC will go on improving the institutional mechanisms and product service systems supporting new productive forces.

China's capital market will see more products and tools suited to mid-to-long-term investments in the future, including index products, infrastructure real estate investment trusts, green bonds, and other instruments, according to Qi. The continuous improvement in the quality and investment value of listed firms will also boost the confidence of mid-to-long-term funds, eh added.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev