Intensify financial support for agriculture, comprehensively promote rural revitalization, finance | agriculture | rural areas
Recently, the People's Bank of China, the State Administration of Financial Supervision, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs jointly issued the ''Guiding Opinions on Financial Support for Comprehensively Promoting Rural Revitalization and Accelerating the Construction of a Powerful Agricultural Country'', which is important for stabilizing the production and supply of grain and important agricultural products. Nine aspects including financial services, strengthening financial support for the consolidation and expansion of poverty alleviation, and strengthening of financial support, and strengthening of financial supply, and strengthening of agricultural power, and financial supply, and strengthening, and strengthening.
What is the current situation of financial support for agriculture in China? How to enhance financial service capabilities in the next step, help comprehensively promote rural revitalization, and accelerate the construction of an agricultural power? The reporter conducted an interview.
Guide more financial resources to be allocated to key areas and weak links of rural revitalization
An agricultural powerhouse is the foundation of a socialist modernized powerhouse. The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to improve the agricultural support and protection system and improve the rural financial service system. This year's No. 1 central document of the Central Committee put forward clear requirements for the current and future financial work of "agriculture, rural areas and farmers", improved the linkage mechanism of government investment, finance and social investment, encouraged the bundling and packaging of qualified projects to be implemented by market entities according to regulations, and promoted financial and social capital to invest more in agriculture and rural areas according to the principle of marketization. Make good use of policies such as refinancing and rediscounting, differentiated deposit reserves, differentiated financial supervision and assessment, and promote financial institutions to increase loan investment in rural revitalization related fields, with a focus on ensuring the demand for credit funds for food security.
In recent years, the People's Bank of China and other departments have actively guided financial institutions to take serving the real economy as their starting point and foothold, and continuously increased financial support for the fields of agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. As of the end of April 2023, the balance of agricultural loans in China reached 53.16 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 16.4%.
The Guiding Opinions emphasize that financial institutions should actively connect with the financing needs of grain production entities, such as expanding production capacity, equipment transformation, and technological upgrading, to promote stable and increased grain production. Increase credit for the construction of high standard farmland and water conservancy infrastructure, encourage the bundling of eligible projects across the province and city, and coordinate the construction of diversified loan repayment channels. Strengthen financial support for key agricultural core technologies such as seed industry revitalization, enhance financing support for agricultural technology equipment and green development, and increase investment in financial resources for high-quality development of rural industries. Optimize financial services for rural construction and urban-rural integration, enhance the level of financial services for new citizens, and improve county-level consumer financial services. Strengthen financial support for poverty-stricken areas and populations, and continue to deepen the targeted assistance work of financial institutions.
The Guiding Opinions specify the need to strengthen precision drip irrigation and positive incentives, increase support for monetary policy tools, strengthen fiscal and financial policy coordination, and form a comprehensive financial support system for agriculture. Strengthen the organizational functions of financial institutions, expand diversified financial services, and enhance the ability of insurance protection services. Improve the mechanisms for rural property rights certification, mortgage registration, transfer transactions, evaluation and disposal, and promote the reform of the financing supporting factor market. Improve the level of basic financial services in rural areas, strengthen statistical monitoring and assessment, and effectively improve the quality and efficiency of financial services for building an agricultural powerhouse.
The five departments stated that the next step will continue to promote the improvement of a multi-level, widely covered, and sustainable modern rural financial service system, guide more financial resources to be allocated to key areas and weak links of rural revitalization, and provide stronger financial support for comprehensively promoting rural revitalization and accelerating the construction of an agricultural power.
Encourage financial institutions to establish characteristic branches and promote the extension of basic services to county-level and rural areas
Building a strong agricultural country is a long-term and arduous historical task. Currently, the financial sector is targeting the key task of comprehensively promoting rural revitalization, with funding as the core, and solidly carrying out financial services for rural revitalization.
The Guiding Opinions require that monetary policy tools such as refinancing, rediscounting, and differentiated reserve requirement ratios be effectively utilized, precision drip irrigation and positive incentives be strengthened, financial institutions be guided to increase credit support for key areas of rural revitalization, and moderately tilt towards key counties for rural revitalization assistance. At the same time, encourage various regions to improve supporting policies such as risk compensation, fiscal interest subsidies, and financing guarantees, and form a joint force with monetary policies such as re lending, to support the issuance of loans in rural revitalization related fields.
For different types of financial institutions, the Guiding Opinions have put forward corresponding requirements. Development policy banks should focus on their functional positioning and increase their medium - and long-term credit support for key areas such as stable production and supply of grain and important agricultural products, agricultural and rural infrastructure, and agricultural scientific and technological innovation within their business scope. State owned commercial banks and joint-stock commercial banks should leverage their advantages in resources, mechanisms, technology, etc., strengthen online and offline collaboration, and increase credit investment in the field of rural revitalization. Rural small and medium-sized financial institutions should base themselves on local areas, focus on supporting agriculture and small businesses, and strengthen the allocation of credit resources in the fields of agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. Accelerate the reform of rural credit cooperatives, promote the transformation of functions of provincial cooperatives, standardize their performance, steadily promote the structural restructuring of rural banks, strengthen risk prevention and resolution, and enhance the financial service capabilities for agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. Encourage financial institutions to establish characteristic outlets in parks and communities to serve rural revitalization, new citizens, and other groups, and promote the extension of basic services to county-level rural areas.
"To provide financial services for rural revitalization, financial institutions should not only adhere to returning to their roots, fulfilling their responsibilities, supporting agriculture and small businesses, but also strengthen credit risk prevention, pay attention to policy synergy, avoid excessive financing, and achieve sustainable financial development." Dong Ximiao, Chief Researcher of China Merchants Association and part-time Researcher at the Financial Research Institute of Fudan University, believes that to provide financial services for rural revitalization, it is necessary to adhere to the division of labor and coordination among departments. Multiple departments such as finance, finance, and industry should play different roles in the construction of an agricultural power. For example, the finance department mainly plays a protective role for vulnerable groups, the financial department mainly plays a supporting and supportive role for active forces, and the industrial department mainly plays a policy guiding role. In specific work, all departments need to fully cooperate and "build a platform together" to achieve a "series of good performances".
Creating financial products and services that benefit agriculture and the people, and enhancing the level of digital inclusive finance in rural areas
In terms of innovative financial services for rural revitalization, the Guiding Opinions propose to encourage financial institutions to issue "agriculture, rural areas, and farmers", small and micro enterprises, and green financial bonds, broaden channels for loanable funds, promote the organic combination of "financing, intelligence, and business", explore the "Party building joint construction+financial envoys going to rural areas and villages" model, and innovate the construction of comprehensive service platforms such as investment attraction, production and sales docking, and financing support. At the same time, relying on financial technology to empower rural revitalization demonstration projects, we encourage financial institutions to use new generation information technology to create financial products and services that benefit agriculture and the people according to local conditions, and improve the level of digital inclusive finance in rural areas.
Dong Ximiao stated that in the process of serving rural revitalization, it is necessary to handle the relationship between financial supervision and financial innovation, strengthen financial supervision, improve the corporate governance structure of financial institutions, and strengthen the macro prudential management system, functional supervision, and behavioral supervision. In financial innovation, we must adhere to serving the real economy, reduce financing costs, avoid shifting from reality to illusion, prevent internal circulation, and strictly adhere to the bottom line of preventing systemic financial risks.
