Significant achievements have been made in the financial sector of the "Two Zones" (the Integrated National Demonstration Zone for Opening Up the Services Sector and the China (Beijing) Pilot Free Trade Zone) since the beginning of their construction five years ago.

Financial Opening-up Resulting in Multiple "Firsts in China"

In the past five years, Beijing has successfully attracted nearly 200 Chinese and foreign-funded financial institutions. Notable players include the first wholly foreign-funded currency broker in China, the first newly established, wholly foreign-funded futures company, and the first wholly foreign-funded securities company.

Leading China in Cross-Border Financial Innovation

Compared with the data in 2020, Beijing's foreign-related income and expenditure in 2024 saw a 67.4-percent increase, reaching USD 2.4 trillion and accounting for 16.9 percent of the national total. The proportion of cross-border CNY income and expenditure rose from 49.7 percent to 65 percent, while the scales of foreign exchange settlement and sales and foreign-related income and expenditure of banks remained in leading places nationwide for four consecutive years.

Strong Momentum in Economic Development

Beijing's financial sector has been marked by a trend of robust growth. In 2024, its added value reached CNY 815.42 billion, up 7.6 percent year on year, outpacing the national growth rate by 2 percentage points. The sector's growth rate reached 8 percent in the first quarter of 2025, boosting its GDP share to 17.9 percent and contributing 1.4 percentage points to Beijing's economic growth. Currently, Beijing ranks in multiple indicators such as the number of financial corporate bodies, the number of practitioners and the total assets of the financial sector, and the insurance density and penetration.

(Source: The Beijing News)