China to boost financial support for new western land-sea corridor

China has rolled out a guideline to strengthen financial support for a new western land-sea corridor, pledging to focus on corridor infrastructure development and facilitate cross-border investment, financing and trade settlement.

Jointly released by eight government departments, including the People's Bank of China, the country's central bank, the guideline lays out 21 key measures to help build the new western land-sea corridor into a land-sea linkage connecting the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.

The measures cover stronger coordination among financial institutions, a high-quality financing system, institutional innovation, digital financial service platforms, financial opening-up and enhanced cross-provincial and cross-border regulatory cooperation. They aim to better leverage financing and settlement — two core financial functions — to support high-quality development of the corridor.

Concrete steps include focusing on infrastructure construction along the corridor and increasing support from various financial institutions and while making better use of diversified financing channels such as corporate credit bonds, real estate investment trusts and project loans. A dedicated fund will be established in Chongqing to support infrastructure projects and industrial parks along the route.

The guideline also seeks to facilitate cross-border financing for eligible innovative firms, and strengthen bilateral currency cooperation with Southeast and Central Asian economies to support cross-border use of the renminbi.