Several experts told reporters from the China Securities Journal that during the Two Sessions, issues such as reforming the issuance and listing system, strengthening support for “four new” enterprises, vigorously developing the bond market, expanding two-way opening-up, and purifying the market ecosystem are expected to become hot topics of discussion—promising exciting developments.

　　The reform of the issuance and listing system is drawing the most attention.

　　Capital market reform is an important component of economic reform, and deputies and members of the Two Sessions nationwide may put forward suggestions on related reforms from multiple perspectives.

　　Pan Xiangdong, chief economist at New Era Securities, believes the discussion may revolve around several key points:

　　First, promote reforms to the issuance and listing system to enhance the capital market’s ability to serve the real economy.

　　Second, further expand direct financing and optimize the overall financial structure, with a particular emphasis on vigorously developing the bond market.

　　Third, further standardize market order and purify the market environment.

　　Tian Lihui, head of the Institute for Finance and Development at Nankai University, stated:

　　Discussions on capital market reform will focus on how to achieve market fairness, how to better serve the real economy, how to promote inclusive finance, and how to enhance the international competitiveness of China’s capital markets. The implementation and advancement of these efforts will require building consensus, clarifying strategies, breaking down pathways, making specific arrangements, and assigning clear responsibilities to designated individuals.

　　Chen Li, Director of the Research Institute at Chuan Cai Securities, predicts:

　　Financial regulation will continue to be a key issue for deputies and members during the Two Sessions. In addition, regarding institutional reform, China has long placed great emphasis on financial regulation and established a basic regulatory framework characterized by sector-specific oversight. However, as financial markets have evolved and changed, this sector-specific regulatory system has begun to reveal new challenges. The establishment of the Financial Stability and Development Committee indicates that the central authorities have already taken note of these issues, and we look forward to this session making further progress in the area of institutional reform.

　　Further intensify support for “four new” enterprises.

　　Tian Lihui stated that, in the context of the global new technological revolution, new technologies, new industries, new business models, and new formats represent crucial levers for achieving China’s medium-to-high-speed economic growth.

　　We need institutional flexibility, adaptability, and inclusiveness to encourage “hidden champions,” “unicorn” companies, and cutting-edge technology enterprises to list on China’s capital markets, thereby accelerating their rapid rise and enabling market participants in our country to share in the benefits of high-quality corporate development.

　　“The development of the new economy has become a key driver of China’s economic transformation, and its importance to overall economic growth continues to rise. We need to step up support for new technologies, new industries, new business models, and new formats. The current system for issuing and listing shares still requires further reform,” Pan Xiangdong believes.

　　First, we need to explore ways to reasonably adjust corporate issuance standards, taking into account a moderate reduction in over-reliance on financial indicators and establishing a more comprehensive and integrated evaluation system. We should also show some tolerance toward emerging enterprises with growth potential.

　　Second, we will further strengthen the screening process and impose even stricter penalties on enterprises and financial institutions for any illegal or non-compliant behavior during the IPO application process, thereby safeguarding investors’ interests and preventing the wastage of valuable market resources.

　　Third, we will strive to reduce the waiting time for companies seeking to go public, ensuring that those meeting the requirements can promptly obtain financial support.

　　Continuously expand two-way opening of the capital market.

　　Regarding the two-way opening of capital markets, Pan Xiangdong believes that, building on the QFII and QDII systems, China has already successively launched the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect, and is preparing to launch the Shanghai-London Stock Connect. Further expanding openness in the future is an inevitable trend.

　　In terms of specific exploration, first, we could consider adopting a model similar to the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect to further expand the scope of eligible participants; second, we could explore new opening-up models and broaden channels for opening up; third, we could encourage domestic financial institutions to actively engage in overseas business and allow foreign financial institutions to join the domestic financial market competition, provided they operate within the bounds of law and compliance.

　　Chen Li stated that since joining the WTO, China has not only sought alignment with international standards at the substantive level but has also continuously explored opportunities to deepen its opening-up in the capital market. For example, recently, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission made amendments to the “Implementation Measures for Administrative Licensing Matters of Foreign-funded Banks by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission,” thereby steadily fulfilling its commitment to further expanding its opening-up to the outside world.

　　On the other hand, further opening up the market and allowing more international investors to invest in China’s equity market will help address the current situation in the real economy, where non-financial enterprises have relatively high leverage ratios. Moreover, opening up the financial market will also further enhance the rationality of pricing in the domestic capital market, which will be conducive to our own long-term development.

　　“Deepening reform requires better unleashing market vitality, especially the vitality of market entities. Expanding two-way openness can promote reform through opening up, foster development through learning, and enhance strength through competition,” suggested Tian Lihui.

　　First, we will continue to build a market environment characterized by integrity and clean governance, uphold comprehensive and stringent regulatory oversight in accordance with the law, crack down on illegal and non-compliant activities, protect lawful and compliant practices, and provide legal safeguards for fostering a sound market ecosystem.

　　Second, respect market forces and follow market rules, allowing the market to gain vitality through survival of the fittest.

　　Third, enhance the quality of listed companies and promote the development of world-class enterprises.

　　Fourth, enhance the competitiveness of financial intermediaries and build world-class investment banks.

　　Fifth, develop long-term institutional investors and foster professional local asset management firms.

　　Sixth, expand the reform and opening-up of the stock exchange to enhance the international competitiveness of China’s capital market.

　　Further optimize the market ecosystem.

　　“Comprehensive and stringent regulation in accordance with the law” is a necessary guarantee for the long-term healthy development of the capital market.

　　In terms of specific implementation, Pan Xiangdong believes that: first, we can continue to intensify penalties and raise the costs of illegal and non-compliant behavior for relevant institutions and individuals; second, we can gradually shift from “inspection-based” regulation to “normalized” regulation, making it more difficult for relevant entities to engage in illegal or non-compliant activities and thereby discouraging any侥幸 mentality they might have; third, we can further leverage the crucial role of media and public oversight by mobilizing social forces to provide assistance and support for regulatory agencies’ efforts to optimize the market ecosystem.

　　Looking back at 2017, we saw that the CSRC initiated investigations into 478 cases throughout the year and filed 312 new cases, including 90 major cases—double the number from the previous year. Throughout the year, 335 filed cases were concluded, representing a 43% increase over the previous year.

　　Chen Li said that currently, regulators are continuously taking action at all levels—such as curbing speculative hype, improving the quality of information disclosure, preventing abnormal trading activities, and even guarding against systemic financial risks—and have already achieved significant results. As financial regulation continues to deepen, regulators will further follow up on various fronts, including implementing penetrating supervision, and will continue to guide the financial industry back to its original purpose.

　　Tian Lihui suggested that comprehensive and stringent regulation and enhanced inspection and enforcement efforts should leverage technological means to gradually implement smart regulation based on the internet and big data. While pursuing comprehensive and stringent regulation and strengthening inspection and enforcement, it is also crucial to intensify education and warnings for market participants, thereby gradually establishing an effective mechanism that ensures "no one dares to violate, no one can violate, and no one wants to violate."