Tu Yonghong
Recently, the topic of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) has aroused widespread concern in the society.
This further shows that it is of great significance to coordinate the work of financial opening and financial security.
Unswervingly advancing financial opening will help my country build a new development pattern and achieve high-quality development.
In 2019, my country issued 11 measures to open up the financial industry, opening up the bond, wealth management, insurance, pension markets and credit evaluation industries to foreign investment; my country implemented a negative list system, and the negative list has been reduced year by year, and the market share of foreign capital has steadily increased; Institutional arrangements such as Stock Connect, Bond Market Connect, Wealth Management Connect, and Cash Pools have continuously increased the channels for cross-border capital flows. my country has become the world's second largest foreign investor and foreign investor; my country has basically realized the marketization of interest rates and exchange rates, and the It has become a decisive force in the formation of financial prices and the allocation of financial resources; Shanghai benchmarks against international rules and improves the business environment. It has become a global financial center, and its comprehensive competitiveness ranking in the global financial center has been rising.
Undoubtedly, high-level financial opening has promoted competition in the financial market, improved the ability to optimize the allocation of resources in both domestic and international markets, and strengthened the function of financial services for the real economy. Positive economic growth and maintaining a high economic growth rate provide a solid guarantee.
Financial opening requires the free flow of capital, the international operation of banks, the interconnection of infrastructure, and compliance with international rules, which will objectively increase financial external dependence and risk contagion.
First, in order to carry out financial cross-border activities smoothly, international standards for financial products and financial supervision must be abided by, such as the constantly updated Basel Accord. The right to formulate and speak these financial standards and rules is mainly in the hands of developed countries; third Second, under the current international monetary system, in order to carry out efficient and convenient payments, it is necessary to adopt financial infrastructure dominated by major developed countries; Changes in monetary policy, financial risks, and political and economic crises will all impact my country's financial stability.
It is worth noting that financial opening has also diversified risk sources to a certain extent, increasing the difficulty of risk management.
Foreign institutions are diverse and come from different countries, and financial institutions are likely to violate certain prohibitions or even be sanctioned when dealing with these institutions.
Data and information security is the life of finance. With the opening of the financial door and the digital transformation of finance, the risk of financial data and information being attacked by hackers is also increasing.
Moreover, some international disputes may be more about financial data, information, and financial infrastructure such as payment and settlement systems.
Finance is the blood of modern economy, and financial activities are economic activities.
In the process of financial opening, my country must put financial security first and balance the relationship between financial opening and financial security.
First, it is necessary to apply cutting-edge financial technology, establish an efficient financial supervision system, strengthen the dual-pillar supervision capability, improve the financial macro and micro risk early warning mechanism, and firmly maintain the bottom line of no systemic financial risk.
The second is to increase institutional innovation and product innovation. In response to the current complex and severe changes in the international situation, banks, securities companies and insurance institutions should be enlarged and strengthened to enhance the resource allocation capability and competitiveness of Shanghai as a global financial center; Exchange, provide more levels and channels of RMB financial products, as well as RMB exchange rate and interest rate derivatives, to meet the growing international demand for RMB safe-haven assets; by increasing the breadth, depth and resilience of the financial market, resist external shocks and risk contagion .
The third is to strengthen the construction of financial infrastructure, actively participate in international financial governance, promote the formulation of guiding standards and rules in green finance, digital currency and other fields, and improve my country's right to speak.
The fourth is to strengthen top-level design, build platform coordination mechanisms such as RCEP, the China International Import Expo, and the joint construction of the “Belt and Road Initiative”, create more RMB trade, investment and financing use scenarios, and expand the international application scope of the RMB Cross-border Payment System (CIPS). Steadily promote the internationalization of the RMB and increase the supply of global public goods.
(The author is the Dean of the Yangtze River Economic Belt Research Institute of Renmin University of China and the Deputy Director of the International Monetary Institute)