(Yicai Global) July 22 -- Authorities in China have combined two financial research institutions to create the Shanghai Finance and Development Laboratory, which will conduct forward-looking studies into the strategic goal of advancing financial reforms and building the city into an international financial center.

As a legal entity set up by the National Institution for Finance and Development, the lab's predecessor consisted of two parts, Li Yang, chairman of the lab's academic committee, said at the unveiling ceremony. One is the NIFD established by the Chinese Academy of Social Science in June 2015 by integrating more than 10 think tanks. The other is the CASS' Lujiazui Institute, founded by the academy and the Shanghai government, in 2010.

The new Shanghai-based lab will serve the central government in formulating monetary, financial and macroeconomic policies, help government at all levels enhance their ability of strategic planning and risk management and provide financial institutions and industrial and commercial businesses with action-oriented consultancy services while improving the level of economic and financial research.

The Research Center for National Balance Sheet, the Research Center for Property Finance, the Research Center of Banks, the Research Center of Payment & Settlement, and the Research Center of Wealth Management are among the institutions with great influence in the lab, Li said.

The Research Center for National Balance Sheet has compiled the national balance sheet for 20 years, with the data issued frequently referenced by international institutions, which is rare among domestic think tanks, Li noted.

Editor: Tang Shihua