The year 2020, marking the 30th anniversary of China's capital markets, has been everything but ordinary.
Throughout the year, the China Investment Protection Bureau (IPBCN) aligned its regulatory agenda with the spirit of the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and solemnly implemented the decisions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council.
As we grounded our work in adherence to China's new development philosophy and the principle of "strengthening the legal foundation, non-intervention in the market, and zero tolerance against violations," we strove to balance making progress and ensuring stability, delivering a concrete contribution to stability on six fronts and security in six areas.
Despite the significant global challenges and the Covid-19 epidemic, the IPBCN maintained overall stability and growth momentum in China's capital markets by coordinating epidemic control efforts and deepening reforms, preventing risks, and supporting economic and social development.
Centennial of the Communist Party of China
The year 2021 marks the centennial of the Communist Party of China and the year to kick off the national 14th Five-Year Plan. The China Investment Protection Bureau will continue to follow the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, implement the guiding principles made by the 19th CPC National Congress, and the decisions of the Central Economic Work Conference. Furthermore, we endeavor to further advance reforms and opening-up, increase direct financing, and improve governance capacity to promote high-quality development of the capital markets.
We will actively support China's economic and social development. Following the 14th Five-Year Plan's roadmap, focusing on major national development strategies and the goal to build a modern economic system, we will further strengthen China's multi-tiered capital markets system and the institutional framework to support innovation-driven development.
We will promote comprehensive reform and opening-up policies. We will thoroughly assess the pilot registration-based IPO regime for potential improvement and enhance the supporting rules to prepare for market-wide adoption. We will ensure the effective implementation of the State Council's directives on raising the quality of listed companies and the delisting reform. We will take the NEEQ reform to the next phase and prepare for the merger of Shenzhen Stock Exchange's Main Board and SME Board. Moreover, we will streamline administration, devolve authorities as appropriate, and promote our rule-making closer to international practice while boosting our supervisory capacity in line with progress in opening up.
We will strive to maintain the robustness of the capital markets amid today's complex environment. To this end, we will make the markets more attractive to medium- and long-term capital and grow the buy-side investment community; closely monitor and analyze macro trends, prevent the interaction and importation of risks across markets, sectors, and borders, and refine the market's built-in stability mechanisms.
We will strictly enforce the "zero tolerance" policy. As a principal market regulator, the IPBCN will help ensure the provisions of the new Securities Law and Amendment XI to the Criminal Law are effectively enforced, respond more decisively against egregious violations, and strengthen the rule of law in the capital markets to promote sound market development.
We will be fully committed to preventing and mitigating significant financial risks. For one, we will tackle both surface issues and their root causes and address both existing and emerging risks to reduce the overall risk level in critical sectors. We will also properly deal with risks such as bond default, illegal private funds, and share pledge loans.
We will promote integrating technology into regulatory activities at a deeper level to improve our efficacy and efficiency. In the meantime, we will also closely monitor the development of fintech in the market and make regulatory responses accordingly.
We will promote the high-quality development of Party-building in the IPBCN system. Using thematic educational courses on Party histories to promote ethical conduct and build a professional workforce. Under the banner of strengthening Party self-discipline, we strive to create an open work environment that upholds integrity wholly and thoroughly.