The State Administration of Foreign Exchange will orderly expand the pilot program for high-level opening up of cross-border trade
Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, January 6th (Reporter Liu Kaixiong) On January 6th, it was learned from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange that the 2026 National Foreign Exchange Management Work Conference held in Beijing from January 5th to 6th has identified the key work areas in the field of foreign exchange management for this year. Among them, the measures and arrangements for deepening the reform of foreign exchange facilitation and steadily expanding high-level institutional opening-up in the foreign exchange field are worth paying attention to.
In recent years, deepening the reform of foreign exchange facilitation has always been a key focus of foreign exchange management reform. In 2026, the foreign exchange management department will continue to optimize the management of trade foreign exchange business, orderly expand the pilot program for high-level opening up of cross-border trade, increase support for the development of new trade formats such as cross-border e-commerce, and improve the management of enterprise trade credit reports; Continue to focus on the five major articles in finance and expand the application scenarios of cross-border financial service platforms.
At the same time, in order to better assist physical enterprises in coping with exchange rate risks, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange will further improve enterprise exchange rate risk management services, support financial institutions in developing simple and easy-to-use exchange rate hedging products, reduce the cost of exchange rate hedging for small and medium-sized enterprises, and enhance the level of infrastructure services in the foreign exchange market.
The reform of bank foreign exchange expansion is a key reform content launched by the State Administration of Foreign Exchange in December 2024, aiming to enable physical enterprises to effectively enjoy the policy dividends of cross-border trade and investment and financing facilitation reform through the reengineering of bank foreign exchange business processes. By the end of 2025, the number of banks participating in this reform has reached 30, and the coverage has gradually expanded to the whole country. The relevant banks processed foreign exchange transactions worth 440 billion US dollars annually based on customer instructions.
The foreign exchange management department will guide reformed banks to expand their branches nationwide in 2026, steadily promote more banks to initiate reforms, promote the integration of business development reform and facilitation policies, and provide integrated and convenient foreign exchange services for enterprises.
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange has also stated that it will introduce policies for overseas lending, domestic and foreign exchange loan fund management, and implement a centralized operation and management policy for cross-border funds of multinational corporations in both domestic and foreign currencies nationwide in 2026. Strengthen the integrated reform and innovation of foreign exchange policies in the pilot free trade zone, support the construction of international financial centers in Shanghai and Hong Kong, and support the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port and the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area.
In addition, this working conference emphasizes the need to adhere to bottom line thinking and build a solid "breakwater" and "wave prevention dike" in the foreign exchange market; Further consolidate and strengthen foreign exchange supervision, enhance the ability and level of open supervision; Make every effort to maintain the safety, liquidity, and preservation and appreciation of foreign exchange reserve assets.