On August 1, the SAFE held a seminar on foreign exchange management work for the second half of 2025 via video. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the seminar conveyed, studied and implemented the spirit of the CPC Central Committee Politburo meeting, summarized the foreign exchange management work in the first half of the year, analyzed the current financial and foreign exchange situation, and arranged the key tasks for the second half of this year. Zhu Hexin, Secretary of the CPC SAFE Leadership Group and Administrator of the SAFE, delivered a work report. Members of the CPC SAFE Leadership Group and Deputy Administrators of the SAFE attended the seminar.

The seminar pointed out that since 2025, the foreign exchange management department has conscientiously implemented the guiding principles of the Central Economic Work Conference, coordinated efforts for preventing risks, strengthening supervision and promoting development in the field of foreign exchange, rigorously advanced the rectification of issues identified by the central inspection team, and achieved positive results in all aspects. Firstly, we upheld and strengthened the Party's overall leadership. We‌ thoroughly studied and implemented the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speeches, conducted intensive education on the central Party leadership's eight-point decision on conduct, and resolutely advanced comprehensive and rigorous Party self-governance. Secondly, we enhanced foreign exchange support for the high-quality development of the real economy. We boosted foreign trade stability by expanding and improving facilitation policies for trade foreign exchange receipts and payments of high-quality enterprises, upgrading pilot programs for high-level trade opening-up, and enabling more banks and payment institutions to process foreign exchange settlements for entities in new trade formats based on electronic transaction information. We reformed cross-border investment and financing management in an orderly manner by expanding the pilot program of integrated capital pool for multinational companies' domestic and foreign currencies, allocating a new investment quota of USD 3.08 billion to Qualified Domestic Institutional Investors (QDII), and studyingthe development of comprehensive measures to deepen foreign exchange management reform in cross-border investment and financing. We improved the service for corporate foreign exchange risk management, achieving a record-high corporate foreign exchange hedging ratio in the first half of this year. We prudently advanced the reform of banks' foreign exchange business, with banks processing over USD 200 billion in cross-border payments based on client instructions. We actively supported regional opening-up and development, especially the construction of Shanghai International Financial Center. Thirdly, we vigorously safeguarded the stable operation of the foreign exchange market. We maintained the flexibility of the RMB exchange rate while strengthening the "macro-prudential + micro-regulation" two-pronged management of the foreign exchange market, enabling China's foreign exchange market to demonstrate strong resilience amid complex challenges. Fourthly, we ‌made efforts to build a robust foreign exchange regulatory system. We strengthened the legal foundation and operational mechanisms for foreign exchange regulation, and severely cracked down on illegal activities such as underground banking. Fifthly, we improved the operation and management of foreign exchange reserves, with the scale of foreign exchange reserves standing stable at more than USD 3.2 trillion.

The seminar stressed that the foreign exchange management department should conscientiously study and comprehend‌ General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech on the current economic situation and the economic work in the second half of 2025 delivered at the CPC Central Committee Politburo meeting, ‌effectively align thoughts and actions‌ with the CPC Central Committee's assessment of economic and financial conditions as well as its decisions ‌and arrangements, uphold the Party's overall leadership‌ over financial and foreign exchange work, advance the modernization of the foreign exchange governance system and capabilities, ‌establish a foreign exchange management institutional mechanism‌ that is "more convenient, more open, more secure, and more intelligent", ‌resolutely follow the path of financial development with Chinese characteristics, and‌ provide strong support for the high-quality economic development and the advancement of Chinese modernization.

The seminar arranged the key tasks for the second half of 2025. First, to comprehensively strengthen Party building. We shall thoroughly carry out General Secretary Xi Jinping's important requirements of "five further implementations", earnestly fulfill the spirit of the Financial Sector Party Building Work Conference, advance the normalized and long-term inspection rectification, enhance quality and efficiency of Party building, further advance comprehensive and rigorous Party self-governance, refine long-term-mechanisms for work style construction, and build loyal, clean and responsible professional foreign exchange cadre team‌. Second, to deepen foreign exchange reform and opening-up. We shall support stable development of foreign trade by implementing a package of trade foreign exchange management reform policies, such as optimizing foreign exchange settlement for entities in new trade formats and facilitating centralized offshore fund management for project contractors. We shall promote cross-border investment and financing facilitation through the implementation of a package of measures, including eliminating registration requirement for foreign-invested enterprises' domestic reinvestment, facilitating cross-border financing for technology-based enterprises, implementing the management policies of multinational corporations' cross-border capital pool nationwide, launching pilot programs for green foreign debt, and optimizing fund management for overseas-listed domestic enterprises. We shall expand and upgrade the reform of banks' foreign exchange business. We shall deepen the development of the foreign exchange market, and continue to improve the service for corporate foreign exchange risk management. We shall support regional opening-up according to local conditions, by actively supporting the strategy for upgrading pilot free trade zones and the foreign exchange management innovation in the Hainan Free Trade Port and the Greater Bay Area, etc. Third, to ‌prevent and eliminate external shock risks. We shall strengthen monitoring and analysis of foreign exchange situation, enhance macro-prudential management of cross-border capital flows, and  market expectations guidance, conduct timely counter-cyclical adjustments, so as to safeguard a stable foreign exchange market as well as ensure national economic and financial security. ‌Fourth, to enhance regulatory capacities and standards under open-economy conditions. We shall advance the construction of foreign exchange management legal framework. We shall improve in-process and ex-post supervision, leverage technology for regulatory efficacy, severely crack down on illegal cross-border financial activities. Fifth, to improve the operation and management of foreign exchange reserves with Chinese characteristics, so as to ensure the safety, liquidity, as well as value preservation and appreciation of foreign exchange reserves. Sixth, to promote the development of the statistical system‌ for the balance of payments. We shall formulate the implementation plan for the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (Seventh Edition). Seventh, to comprehensively raise the level of foreign exchange management work‌. We shall strengthen pre-implementation appraisal and deliberation as well as post-implementation follow-up assessment for policy impact. We shall advance "digital foreign exchange administration" and "secure foreign exchange administration", as well as explore "smart foreign exchange administration". We shall continuously enrich application scenarios of cross-border financial service platforms.

The relevant responsible comrades of all departments and subordinate units of the SAFE, as well as the responsible comrades of the discipline inspection and supervision group stationed in the SAFE, attended the seminar on site. The relevant comrades from the Office of the Central Commission for Financial and Economic Affairs, the Office of the Central Financial Commission and the General Office of the State Council were invited to attend the seminar. The relevant comrades of the SAFE provincial branches attended the seminar at local venues.