The People’s Bank of China, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Commerce, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, issued policy guidance setting out 21 measures to strengthen financial services for the Western Land Sea New Corridor, with a focus on improving the core functions of financing and settlement. The package spans bank coordination and cross-border linkage, diversified project and corporate funding, and settlement and capital account facilitation. Measures include encouraging banks’ head offices to establish dedicated service mechanisms and integrated cross-province credit arrangements, promoting joint credit and syndicated loans, supporting overseas network optimisation and代理结算 and clearing cooperation with Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Hong Kong and Macau, and attracting eligible ASEAN and Hong Kong and Macau banks and international financial organisations to set up local entities or functions. On funding channels, it highlights greater use of corporate credit bonds, real estate investment trusts (REITs) and project finance, the establishment of a Western Land Sea New Corridor fund in Chongqing, and exploration of debt-to-equity support for existing corridor infrastructure debt. It also sets out targeted logistics and supply chain finance initiatives, cross-border trade settlement facilitation for qualifying banks and “high-quality” firms, pilots for integrated domestic and foreign currency cash pooling in eligible areas, expanded RMB cross-border use including potential digital renminbi applications, and the build-out of a “PBOC Western Land Sea Smart Financing Link” digital platform connected to trade and government data systems and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange cross-border financial services platform. The People’s Bank of China and the Chongqing Municipal People’s Government will coordinate with relevant departments to implement the measures. The guidance also calls for corridor provinces to establish joint PBOC branch coordination mechanisms, maintain and update project and enterprise lists for bank-firm matching, and explore monitoring and evaluation arrangements that feed into relevant supervisory assessment frameworks.
Central Bank of the Republic of China 2025-12-24
People’s Bank of China and seven agencies issue measures to expand financing and settlement support for the Western Land Sea New Corridor
The People’s Bank of China and national agencies issued guidance with 21 measures to enhance financial services for the Western Land Sea New Corridor, focusing on financing and settlement improvements. Initiatives include promoting cross-border banking coordination, diversified funding channels, and establishing a fund in Chongqing. The guidance emphasizes logistics and supply chain finance, cross-border trade settlement facilitation, and developing a digital platform for smart financing linked to trade and government data systems.