To implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, the Opinions on Accelerating the Building of Shanghai into an International Financial Hub and Financially Supporting the Integrated Development of the Yangtze River Delta (Yinfa No. 46 [2020]) was officially published on February 14, 2020 with approval from the State Council.

Accelerating the building of Shanghai into an international financial hub and the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta is a key growth strategy defined by the CPC Central Committee and part of the efforts to implement the guiding principles of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee to improve the government's governance systems and capabilities in finance. The Opinions provides 30 initiatives covering topics such as advancing financial piloting in Lin-gang Special Area, accelerating the opening up of the financial industry in Shanghai at a higher level and financially supporting the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta. The release will be helpful for accelerating the building of Shanghai into an international financial hub and the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, and will be of great strategic significance to lead high-quality development of China and speed up the building of a modern economic system.

The ongoing COVID-19 epidemic will have a short-lived impact on China's economy. In comparison, deepening the supply-side structural reform in the financial community and opening the financial industry wider to the outside, China's long-term policy orientation, is a long-standing cause that will not be disrupted by the epidemic. We are confident that China will speed up reforms, open its markets wider, and strengthen its risk governance capabilities.