Advancements in Financial Openness

Caijing Magazine

Issue 24， 2019

In April 2018， President Xi Jinping announced that Chinas financial industry will be opened wider to the outside world. So far the Chinese government has issued dozens of policies for further opening the financial market. Chinas financial market is now integrating into the global system with a stronger sense of confidence.

In the financial service sector， China has introduced foreign capital， strengthened its competition within the industry， optimized the allocation of financial resources， and further improved the innovation and risk control capabilities of financial institutions. In terms of the financial market， China has opened its stock market through mechanisms such as QFII， RQFII， Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect， and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect. The bond market is even more open and has fully allowed qualified foreign investors to issue RMB bonds or invest in the interbank bond market.

During the past two years， the opening up of Chinas financial industry has continued to accelerate and gain momentum. The opening shows a distinct characteristic of bidirectional flow， and its dynamics reach farther than expected.

At the same time， China is facing new financial risks while acquiring foreign capital. This in turn raises a series of institutional challenges such as regulatory risk control.

Centralized Drug Procurement

Minsheng Weekly

Issue 21， 2019

How can the problem of high drug prices be solved？ Since November 2018， 11 cities in China have been piloting a new centralized drug procurement model， forming a procurement alliance with public medical institutions. So far， the burden of medicine expenses for patients in the pilot cities has been greatly reduced， among which patients with chronic and serious diseases have benefited even more.

Recently， the pilot project has been expanded to the whole country. The model has led to price cuts for some drugs. Results show that the average price of the selected drug is 59 percent lower than the minimum purchase price in non-pilot cities in 2018.

With the drop in prices of pharmaceutical drugs， will the quality be guaranteed？ How can we be sure that qualified medical institutions across the country can provide high-quality， effective， and affordable medicine to the people incessantly？

The new model involves interest adjustment of production and circulation. During the policy implementation， relevant departments should continue to improve the centralized drug procurement mechanism and the market-based drug price formation mechanism， continue to reduce the peoples burden of drug purchasing， standardize the order of medicine circulation， and provide people with affordable， safe， and effective medicinal drugs.

Improving Protection of Data Privacy

China Economic Weekly

Issue 20， 2019

Starting this year， investigation has been conducted on a number of big data companies， credit consulting companies， and Internet finance companies conducting business in big data.

At the sixth World Internet Conference in Wuzhen， legal protection of cyberspace data was discussed at length. Government officials， academic experts， and leading enterprise representatives around the world expressed their views on issues such as data security， personal information protection and rule of law in cyber space， as well as law-based data governance to strengthen data risk prevention and build a secure and credible digital world.

During the time right after automobiles were invented， someone filed a lawsuit purposing that automobiles be taken off the road since they moved too fast， and the consequences of car accidents were unthinkable. Besides， a carriage could meet all the needs of the people. Of course this did not change the arrival of the Auto Era. Instead， a set of laws and rules were established， and people were educated on how to drive and ride in cars.

Big data perhaps is the new“automobile” of this era. While we are looking forward to its bright future and infinite charm， it is time to make rules for it. Otherwise， it will really hurt people， and the harm may extend far beyond our imagination. The whole society needs to work together to develop a set of good rules， and as such， everyone may need to get a drivers license for handling big data.

Shenzhens New Opportunity

Oriental Outlook

Issue 20， 2019

A guideline released by the central authorities in August 2019 supports the building of Shenzhen into a pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

After four decades of development since the beginning of reform and openingup， Shenzhen is embracing a new strategy that is undoubtedly comprehensive and forward-looking：

By 2025： Shenzhen is to become a world-class city renowned for innovation， with special focus on public services and environmentally sustainable development. This will entail raising R&D investment and its innovative capacity. Along the way， the citys cultural soft power will also be improved.

By 2035： Shenzhen is to become Chinas leading international showcase as the global hub for innovation， creativity， and entrepreneurship， showing the world what a modern， powerful， socialist Chinese city looks like.

By 2050： Shenzhen is to stand among the worlds top cities， a benchmark of competitiveness， innovation， and influence.

Looking back over the past 40 years， we see the incredible story of a small fishing village gradually growing into an international and innovative city full of charm and vitality.