13 - China

Summary

As China’s financial system becomes more complex and integrated, interest in and discussion of potential structural reform has intensified. In particular, many commentators advocate for a move towards the Twin Peaks model, along the lines of Australia’s experience. This chapter begins with an overview of China’s financial sector and sources of risk to lay the foundation for a country-specific study. There follows a brief discussion of China’s current financial regulatory architecture and an examination of how the authorities have responded to the sources of risk laid down at the start of the chapter. The shortcomings of the regulatory responses to date have sparked a call for reform of the regulatory structure and these reform proposals are subject to scrutiny. It is concluded that Twin Peaks might serve as a model for China, which, as revealed, is not the latest reform trend announced by the Chinese government and what can be done next to address the unresolved problems after the implementation of the latest reforms.