Wu Qing's Ten Key Points: Discussing GEM Reform and China's Asset Attractiveness

On the afternoon of March 6, 2026, the 14th National People’s Congress held a press conference on economic topics at the Media Center News Hall. National Development and Reform Commission Director Zheng Shanjie, Minister of Finance Lan Fuan, Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao, People’s Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng, and China Securities Regulatory Commission Chairman Wu Qing answered questions from Chinese and foreign journalists on development reform, fiscal budgets, commerce, finance, securities, and related issues.

During the Q&A, Wu Qing discussed the implementation of the 14th Five-Year Plan and outlined many future plans for high-quality development of the capital market over the next five years, including the development of listed companies, deepening reform of the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM), optimizing refinancing mechanisms, expanding industry institutions, serving the real economy, strengthening regulation, and protecting investors.

The Surging News summarized ten key points:

1. Stability is an inevitable requirement for high-quality development of the capital market.
2. Further improve the “investability” of listed companies.
3. Replicate and promote beneficial experiences from the Sci-Tech Innovation Board reform, such as pre-IPO review, to the GEM.
4. Optimize refinancing mechanisms with a focus on supporting excellent and innovative companies.
5. Actively support leading securities firms to grow stronger and larger, adhering to the public fund nature.
6. Enable the capital market to serve industrial transformation and high-quality development with new “accelerations.”
7. Deepen regulation of high-frequency quantitative trading and introduce derivative trading regulatory measures.
8. Resolutely eliminate the “ecosystem” of financial fraud.
9. Strictly investigate and punish behaviors that harm investors, such as riding hot topics, speculating on concepts, and market manipulation.
10. The attractiveness of “Chinese assets” has significantly increased.

Below are the detailed ten key points from Wu Qing’s speech at the economic-themed press conference of the 14th National People’s Congress.

Key Point 1: Stability is the overall requirement, a prerequisite, and an inevitable demand for high-quality development of the capital market.

Wu Qing stated, “The 14th Five-Year Plan is a critical period for laying a solid foundation and making comprehensive efforts to basically realize socialist modernization. It is also a key stage for the capital market to move toward high-quality development.” The plan makes important deployments to improve the inclusiveness and adaptability of the capital market system and to develop functions that coordinate investment and financing.

“The China Securities Regulatory Commission will work with relevant parties to implement these measures without fail, focusing on serving Chinese-style modernization and building a strong financial nation, coordinating risk prevention, strengthened regulation, and high-quality development, striving to achieve qualitative improvements and reasonable quantitative growth in the capital market, and realizing five new enhancements,” Wu Qing said.

Wu Qing pointed out that first, the market should be more resilient and stable. Stability is the overall requirement, a prerequisite, and an inevitable demand for high-quality development. Efforts will continue to leverage the joint efforts of all parties, improve the “long-term capital” market mechanism and ecosystem, enhance the Chinese-style market stabilization mechanism, enrich counter-cyclical adjustment tools, and further strengthen internal market stability.

Key Point 2: Further enhance the “investability” of listed companies.

Wu Qing said that efforts will be made to achieve higher quality and better structure among listed companies. The focus is on continuously ensuring the “authenticity” of listed companies while further improving their “investability.”

“Improve incentive and restraint mechanisms, promote better governance, strengthen dividend payouts and share repurchases, continuously enhance investment value and returns for investors, activate the M&A and restructuring market, promote efficient resource allocation, and help cultivate more world-class enterprises,” Wu Qing said.

Wu Qing noted that over the past two years since the issuance of the new “National Nine Rules,” listed companies have cumulatively paid out dividends and conducted share repurchases totaling 5.23 trillion yuan, a record high, while 88 companies have smoothly delisted.

Key Point 3: For enterprises with breakthroughs in key core technologies, implement pre-IPO review for GEM IPOs.

Wu Qing pointed out that recent measures will deepen reform of the GEM. The overall goal is to further clarify the GEM’s functional positioning and better support high-quality development of the real economy, including emerging and future industries.

First, expand the inclusiveness and coverage of the system by adding more precise and inclusive listing standards, supporting the development of new industries, new business forms, and new technologies. Actively support high-quality innovative and entrepreneurial enterprises in new consumption, modern services, and other sectors to issue and list on the GEM.

Second, replicate and promote beneficial experiences from the Sci-Tech Innovation Board reform to the GEM. Focus on launching pre-IPO review for high-quality innovative enterprises, especially those with breakthroughs in key core technologies, allowing eligible companies to increase capital from existing shareholders, and optimizing IPO pricing reforms.

Third, comprehensively improve the quality of GEM-listed companies by establishing and improving systems from recommendation, review, to full-process regulation, better serving local and private economic development.

“The overall plan for deepening GEM reform has basically taken shape, and further improvements will be made before implementation,” Wu Qing said.

Key Point 4: Refinancing mechanisms should emphasize supporting excellent and innovative companies.

Wu Qing said that another recent measure is to optimize refinancing mechanisms. “Refinancing is an important system to support listed companies in becoming stronger and more innovative, and to foster new capital for innovation. It is also a key function of the capital market.”

Wu Qing indicated that further improvements will be made at the institutional and regulatory level to streamline refinancing review and registration processes, focusing on increasing convenience.

First, enhance the inclusiveness and adaptability of rules, including optimizing the recognition standards for strategic investors, facilitating participation by long-term funds like social security, insurance, and public funds; introducing shelf issuance to guide rational and effective financing; improving lock-in mechanisms for targeted issuance to align prices with market levels; and simplifying refinancing procedures.

Second, reinforce the “support for excellence and innovation” orientation. For high-quality listed companies with good governance and market recognition, significantly improve review efficiency. Extend the “light-asset, high R&D investment” standards from the Sci-Tech Innovation Board and GEM to the main board, implement measures such as relaxing refinancing limits for R&D investment and shortening intervals between refinancing rounds to better support innovative tech companies.

Third, strengthen supervision of refinancing activities. Enhance oversight from pre-approval disclosures, application acceptance, review, to the use of raised funds, increase law enforcement efforts, and strictly punish illegal activities such as misleading refinancing and unauthorized use of funds, to protect investors’ legitimate rights and interests.

Wu Qing emphasized that the process will be gradual and quality-focused, ensuring strict entry control, holding intermediaries accountable, and preventing “sick applications” and herd behavior, to better coordinate investment and financing development.

Key Point 5: Actively support leading securities firms and large public funds to grow stronger and larger, adhering to the public fund nature.

Wu Qing summarized the classification of industry entities, including securities firms, public funds, and private funds, on how to focus on core businesses and develop规范.

For securities firms, efforts include revising and implementing new regulations, supporting top-tier firms to grow stronger and larger, and promoting differentiated development among small and medium-sized firms to improve governance, strengthen internal controls, enhance services, and develop in niche areas.

For public funds, deepen reforms, guide them to adhere to long-term and professional principles, and uphold the public fund nature, always prioritizing investors’ interests.

For private funds, improve the “1+N+X” regulatory framework, strengthen rules on access, fundraising, custody, and disclosure, crack down on illegal activities such as illegal fundraising, misappropriation, self-dealing, and利益输送, and promote industry规范化发展.

Key Point 6: Enable the capital market to serve industrial transformation and high-quality development with new “accelerations.”

Wu Qing said that in recent years, the new wave of technological revolution and industrial transformation has accelerated globally, prompting major markets to reform proactively to adapt to innovation trends.

“From China’s perspective, whether cultivating emerging industries, strategically developing future industries, or innovating and greening traditional industries through digital and intelligent transformation, the capital market’s functions need to be further发挥, accelerating the integration of technological and industrial innovation,” Wu Qing said.

He further pointed out that the development of new quality productivity will support higher-quality capital market growth and bring better, sustained returns to investors.

“Next, we will leverage existing policies and new reforms more effectively, promote capital formation through multiple channels, and channel resources into new quality productivity sectors, enabling the capital market to serve industrial transformation and high-quality development with new ‘speeds.’”

Key Point 7: Deepen regulation of high-frequency quantitative trading and introduce derivative trading regulatory measures.

On risk prevention and strengthened regulation, Wu Qing emphasized that regulatory enforcement and investor protection will be more powerful and effective. “This is our core function, which cannot be weakened, only strengthened.”

Regarding data, Wu Qing said that over the past two years since the issuance of the new “National Nine Rules,” efforts have focused on cracking down on major, malicious, and key violations, with 1,130 securities and futures violations investigated and 30.8 billion yuan in fines and confiscations, reaching record highs.

“Experience has shown that promoting high-quality development on the basis of risk prevention and strengthened regulation is entirely correct. Without effective, orderly, and robust risk prevention and regulation, the current stable and healthy market situation would not be possible,” Wu Qing stated.

He also revealed future regulatory ideas for new business types: first, emphasize fairness and deepen regulation of high-frequency quantitative trading; second, introduce derivative trading regulatory measures to support compliant risk management and limit excessive speculation; third, strengthen regulation of real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, adhering to strict domestic bans and overseas controls, and establish comprehensive regulation rules for encrypted assets, cracking down on misuse of RWA for illegal speculation and financial crimes.

Key Point 8: Resolutely eliminate the “ecosystem” of financial fraud.

Wu Qing specifically addressed efforts to combat financial fraud. “Financial fraud is a ‘tumor’ eroding the foundation of the capital market.” With strong support, last year accelerated efforts to build a comprehensive system for punishing and preventing financial fraud, resulting in 16 delistings due to serious fraud, far exceeding previous years.

“Next, we will further strengthen market discipline and improve enforcement effectiveness,” Wu Qing said. “On one hand, we will solidify governance and enhance prevention by implementing new regulations for listed companies, promptly enforce revised corporate governance standards, strengthen supervision of sponsors, and accelerate the establishment of fraud detection centers and third-party monitoring mechanisms.”

On the other hand, he emphasized strict punishment of fraud, increasing investigations into financial misconduct, cracking down on collusion, enforcing delisting requirements for fraudulent companies, and resolutely clearing out bad actors to eliminate the “ecosystem” of financial fraud.

Key Point 9: Strictly investigate and punish behaviors that harm investors, such as riding hot topics, speculating on concepts, and market manipulation.

On investor protection, Wu Qing said efforts will be made to tighten the “safety net” for safeguarding investors’ legitimate rights.

First, improve channels for investor rights protection and dispute resolution, develop diversified dispute resolution pathways, and promote typical civil cases such as class actions and pre-emptive compensation.

Second, regulate behaviors of listed companies, major shareholders, actual controllers, and intermediaries, strictly investigate and punish behaviors that harm investors, such as riding hot topics, concept speculation, and manipulation, so that the market can more genuinely reflect fairness and justice, making law-abiding and trustworthy conduct a shared goal among market participants.

Key Point 10: The attractiveness of “Chinese assets” has significantly increased.

On opening-up, Wu Qing said efforts will be made to advance opening-up to a deeper and higher level. Currently, international investors’ asset allocation needs are increasingly diverse, and the attractiveness of “Chinese assets” has markedly improved.

“We will focus on creating a first-class market-oriented, rule-of-law, and internationalized business environment, enhancing cross-border investment and financing convenience, and further advancing two-way opening in markets, products, services, and institutions, to build a more transparent, stable, and predictable market environment,” Wu Qing said.

He also emphasized participating more actively in international financial governance reform, strengthening cross-border regulatory cooperation, and continuously improving regulatory and risk control capabilities under open conditions.