Zhu plans easier cross-border payments and investment rules
Zhu Hexin, People's Bank of China Deputy Governor and State Administration of Foreign Exchange Administrator, set out plans to ease cross-border transactions at the Financial Street Forum, in a speech published October 19, 2026.
Three packages widen business access
Zhu plans easier current-account settlement, capital-account rules supporting investment, financing and fund allocation, and broader foreign exchange market access.
Securities firms will gain wider access to settlement and sales pilots; financial institutions will support currency hedging, particularly for smaller firms.
He also pledged stronger onshore-offshore links and support for RMB internationalization.
Creditworthy firms receive simpler procedures, while higher-risk business faces tighter supervision.
By June 2026, over 50,000 firms qualified for review exemptions, about 30 percent more than at end-2025.
First-half business exceeded $580 billion, twice the year-earlier volume; average processing time was less than half its previous level.
Private balance sheets expand abroad
China accepted International Monetary Fund Article VIII obligations in 1996, 30 years earlier.
Current-account transactions rose from over $300 billion to over $8 trillion in 2025; China trades extensively with over 160 economies.
Firms and banks held nearly 70 percent of external financial assets at end-2025, versus about 30 percent in 2010.
By September 2026, policy packages covered over 150,000 entities and $3 trillion.
Beijing pilots exceeded $600 billion, serving nearly 100 technology firms, over 100 multinationals and over 5,000 member firms.
Opening retains a security perimeter
The planned easing does not remove oversight of cross-border capital flows.
Zhu paired wider access with stronger monitoring, early warning and macroprudential management, alongside action against illegal financial activity.
He also pledged to safeguard reserve safety and liquidity while preserving and increasing value.