context: The central bank and seven ministries issued Guiding Opinions on improving financial support for green, low-carbon and high-quality development of Yangtze River Economic Belt on 27 August 2024, laying out 16 key reform tasks. The document builds on the 2023 Central Financial Work Conference which already emphasised coordinated development of five critical areas (scitech, green, inclusive, elderly and digital finance) ensuring that they work together to support regional and national economic growth.
The Guiding Opinions mark two significant breakthroughs, contends Shi Yichen 施懿宸 Central University of Finance and Economics International Institute of Green Finance deputy director, noting they have
- unified 11 provinces and cities within the Yangtze River Economic Belt, introducing measures to coordinate financial support for green, low-carbon and high-quality regional development
- this is a major step forward for the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt
- bridged the gap between green finance and other financial sectors, including tech, digital, inclusive and elderly finance
- this has strong implications for financial institutions, providing guidance on how to coordinate internal resources to advance the development of green finance in the future
Shi notes the inclusion of ‘strong support for the establishment of an ecological product value realisation mechanism’ in the Guiding Opinions. He argues that the Yangtze River Delta has significant potential for developing ecological value. Moving forward, financial institutions can explore diverse funding sources and build a multi-level capital market, in line with the requirements of the Guiding Opinions, to promote the sustainable development and realisation of ecological value.