The 2025 National Foreign Exchange Administration Work Conference was convened in Beijing from January 3 to 4, 2025. During the conference, participants comprehensively implemented the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, the Second and Third Plenary Sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee, and the Central Economic Work Conference. They also summarized the foreign exchange administration work in the year 2024, analyzed the current financial and foreign exchange situation, and made deployments of the key tasks for 2025. Zhu Hexin, Secretary of the CPC Leadership Group of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (the SAFE) and the Administrator of the SAFE, delivered a work report. Members of the CPC SAFE Leadership Group and the Deputy Administrators as well as the Chief Accountant of the SAFE attended the conference.

During the conference, it was pointed out that in 2024, the SAFE unwaveringly implemented the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, enhanced overall planning by seizing the opportunity of accepting the third round of discipline inspections of the 20th CPC Central Committee, advanced progress in a steady manner, took practical actions to overcome difficulties, and achieved new results in all aspects of work. It was noted that the year 2024 witnessed a basic equilibrium in the balance of payments, while the operation of the foreign exchange market remained relatively resilient amidst a complex and challenging landscape. Firstly, the Party building has been comprehensively strengthened with political construction as the guide. The SAFE firmly regarded the study and implementation of the guiding principle of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s keynote speeches and important instructions as the primary political task, consolidated and expanded the outcomes of thematic education, and seriously carried out study and education on Party discipline. The SAFE also rigorously and resolutely undertook rectification tasks assigned by central discipline inspections, and took concrete actions to resolutely advocate the establishment of both Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position within the Party Central Committee and the Party as a whole, as well as the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and resolutely achieved the Two Upholds. Secondly, there has been a continual enhancement in the quality and effectiveness of foreign exchange supporting the real economy. The SAFE implemented the guiding principles of the meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee meeting on September 26, 2024, and promoted the expansion of three cross-border investment and financing facilitation pilots, including the direct handling of foreign debt registration by banks. The SAFE further improved the facilitation of cross-border trade, investment and financing, and effectively developed technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance, and digital finance by focusing on supporting sci-tech enterprises. The SAFE canceled the administrative license for the registration on the List of Enterprises Making Foreign Exchange Receipts and Payments under Trade, expanded coverage and improve quality of policies facilitating foreign exchange receipts and payments for high-quality enterprises, supported the development of new trade formats, and optimized the foreign exchange services for foreigners in China. The SAFE also promoted the expansion of reform of the banking sector’s foreign exchange operations, and improved the supporting systems. Thirdly, the high-level opening-up of the foreign exchange sector has been steadily promoted. The SAFE promoted the quality of capital account opening, worked with the People’s Bank of China to revise provisions on the Regulations on the Domestic Securities and Futures Investment Capital of Foreign Institutional Investors, supported domestic institutions to carry out cross-border securities investment in an orderly manner, and optimized the pilot policy for the integrated capital pool for multinational corporations’ domestic and foreign currencies. The SAFE further advanced the construction of the foreign exchange market, optimized enterprise exchange rate risk management services, supported the opening-up and development of key regions, and expanded the pilot for the high-level opening-up of cross-border trade and investment. Fourthly, the supervision capacity and level under the conditions of opening-up have been further improved. The SAFE strengthened macro-prudential management, strengthened counter-cyclical adjustment and expectation guidance, and promoted the balance between supply and demand in the foreign exchange market. The SAFE also intensified in-process and ex-post supervision, enhanced the off-site supervision work mechanism, and severely cracked down on illegal foreign exchange activities such as underground banks, cross-border gambling, and export tax fraud. Fifthly, the SAFE has been improving the operation and management of foreign exchange reserves, with the total reserve size stably maintained above USD 3.2 trillion since the beginning of the year.

The conference emphasized that in 2025, foreign exchange administration work should be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It called for the thorough implementation of the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress and the Second and Third Plenary Sessions of the 20th CPC Central Committee. Furthermore, the decisions and arrangements established at the Central Economic Work Conference and the Central Financial Work Conference shall be diligently implemented. In accordance with the requirements of the national work conferences for the financial system, the SAFE shall persist in seeking progress while maintaining stability and promoting stability through progress, uphold fundamental principles and break new ground, pursuit system integration, better coordinate development and security, and anchor on the establishment and improvement of a “more convenient, more open, and secure” foreign exchange administration system and mechanism. The SAFE shall implement more proactive and effective foreign exchange administration policies, promote in-depth reform and high-level opening-up in the foreign exchange field, and prevent and resolve external shock risks, to make greater contributions to the high-quality completion of the goals and tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the good start of the 15th Five-Year Plan.

The conference outlined key tasks for foreign exchange administration in 2025. Firstly, the SAFE will promote comprehensive and strict governance over the Party members in depth. The SAFE will conscientiously implement the “first issue” system, promote the normalization and long-term effect of Party discipline study and education, take the lead in governance, play the three leading roles, and propel itself ahead to become a model government organization. Secondly, the SAFE will strictly and concretely implement the rectification tasks assigned by the central discipline inspections. The SAFE will adhere to problem-oriented rectification, deeply address both symptoms and root causes, and demonstrate political responsibility with the actual results of rectification. Thirdly, the SAFE will intensify efforts to promote foreign exchange facilitation reforms. The SAFE will continue to advance technology finance, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance, and digital finance, include more sci-tech enterprises in the pilot of cross-border financing facilitation, and guide overseas high-quality capital to invest in domestic high-tech industries. In accordance with the requirements of being “both open and manageable”, the SAFE will orderly expand the coverage of the reform of bank foreign exchange operations. The SAFE will actively support the stabilization of foreign trade and foreign investment, promote the optimization and expansion of trade facilitation policies, improve the facilitation level of foreign exchange business in new trade formats, and promote the facilitation of foreign investment and foreign currency exchange. In addition, the SAFE will establish a mechanism for evaluating foreign exchange administration policies. Fourthly, the SAFE will intensify efforts to promote the institutional opening-up of the foreign exchange field. The SAFE will optimize the management of funds for IPOs of domestic enterprises, promote the reform of the management of foreign debts of enterprises, and continue to improve the capital pool policy of multinational corporations. The SAFE will build an open and diverse foreign exchange market with robust functions and orderly competition, guide financial institutions to improve the long-term mechanism of exchange rate risk management services, and optimize the infrastructure of the foreign exchange market. The SAFE will also support the upgrading strategy of the pilot free trade zones, support the construction of international financial centers in Shanghai and Hong Kong, and support the Hainan Free Trade Port and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to innovate foreign exchange administration. Fifthly, the SAFE will intensify efforts to maintain the basic stability of the foreign exchange market. The SAFE will strengthen the monitoring and judgment of the situation, improve the monitoring and early warning system for cross-border capital flows, and enhance the counter-cyclical adjustment and expectation management of the foreign exchange market. Sixthly, the SAFE will intensify efforts to build a complete and effective foreign exchange supervision system. The SAFE will establish and improve the working mechanism for in-process and ex-post supervision, and make full use of scientific and technological means to improve the efficiency of supervision. The SAFE will insist on a high-pressure policy for cracking down on illegal activities in the foreign exchange field, and work together to strengthen the governance of illegal cross-border financial activities at the source. Seventhly, the SAFE will intensify efforts to promote the high-quality development of the operation and management of foreign exchange reserves, and ensure the safety, liquidity, and value preservation and appreciation of China’s foreign exchange reserves. Eighthly, the SAFE will solidify the foundation of foreign exchange administration. This involves advancing the amendment of the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Foreign Exchange Administration, accelerating the establishment of a modernized international balance of payments statistical framework, exploring the implementation of smart foreign exchange administration, and empowering foreign exchange administration and service with technology and data.

Head officials of relevant departments, provincial branches, and institutions of the SAFE, as well as colleagues accredited to the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Team, attended the conference. Representatives from the Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, the Office of the Central Financial Commission, the General Office of the State Council, and the National Audit Office were also present at the conference upon invitation.
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