Exclusive Interview with Wu Yansheng from the People's Bank of China Guangdong Branch: Riding the APEC Momentum to Deepen Financial Reforms in Guangdong

Ask AI · How can APEC’s East Wind help Guangdong achieve new breakthroughs in financial reform?

Southern Finance reporter Pang Cheng, Guangzhou report

This year is the opening year of the “15th Five-Year Plan period,” and it is also APEC’s “China Year.” APEC’s series of events will be held in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Guangdong will serve as an important stage for major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics, helping move China’s diplomacy into a new stage where it can achieve more.

The 2026 Guangdong provincial government work report also clearly states that Guangdong will serve and safeguard the 33rd APEC Informal Leaders’ Meeting, attract and concentrate more international high-end factors, and actively promote more opening outcomes and cooperation outcomes across the province.

Against this backdrop, regarding topics such as how, taking advantage of APEC “China Year,” to further deepen financial reform and opening-up, serve economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, and continue to play the role of Guangdong’s “testing ground” for financial reform and an “opening window,” recently, Wu Yansheng, a member of the Party Committee and deputy governor of the People’s Bank of China’s Guangdong branch, and deputy director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange’s Guangdong branch, was interviewed by a Southern Finance reporter.

**Southern Finance: In recent years, multiple policies aimed at improving the convenience of cross-border trade investment and financing have been implemented in Guangdong. What results have been achieved? **

Wu Yansheng: In recent years, a number of policy measures promoting the facilitation of cross-border trade investment and financing have been implemented in Guangdong. These policies are not isolated “standalone preferential measures,” but a set of “combination punches” formed around serving the real economy and promoting high-level opening-up. Overall, the policy effects are reflected in three aspects: “wider coverage, higher convenience, and stronger sense of gain.”

The cross-border trade investment high-level opening-up pilot has achieved “expansion in scale and quality improvement.” In terms of expansion, in 2022, Guangzhou Nansha took the lead in launching a cross-border trade investment high-level opening-up pilot. In early 2024, several pilot policies were expanded from localized pilots to cover Guangdong’s entire provincial jurisdiction, effectively responding to concerns and demands from all sectors of society about expanding the pilot regions. At the same time, more advanced manufacturing enterprises, trade new business-forms enterprises, and small and medium-sized enterprises have been included in the pilot. In 2025, Guangdong’s entire provincial jurisdiction (excluding Shenzhen, same below) added 2,773 pilot enterprises, an increase of nearly 1.7 times.

In terms of quality improvement, actively exploring optimization of procedures, improving the internal review green channel for newly added pilot enterprises, and ensuring policy alignment between the bank foreign exchange business licensing reform and the pilot of cross-border trade investment high-level opening-up. Across the whole jurisdiction, a filing model of enterprise lists has been implemented to improve the efficiency of admission filings. The settlement efficiency of pilot enterprises has increased significantly. For single current account foreign exchange receipt and payment business, the processing time has basically been compressed to within 10 minutes.

Orderly advancing the evolution of the cross-border cash pooling policy for multinational companies, forming a policy framework system of “parallel settlement in both foreign and local currencies, with matching both high- and low-version options.” Guangdong has long been a pioneering pilot region for cross-border cash pooling business for multinational companies. In 2022, it launched a pilot for an integrated cash pool in both local currency and foreign currency. In 2023, it took the lead nationwide in optimizing and upgrading policies for centralized cross-border cash management of multinational companies in both foreign and local currencies. In 2024, it further optimized pilot policies for integrated cash pool business in both foreign and local currencies, forming a policy framework system of “parallel settlement in both foreign and local currencies, with matching both high- and low-version options.”

The cross-border cash pooling policy is built around a “centralized operation + two-way circulation” mechanism. It simplifies procedures for cross-border cash transfers and allocations by multinational companies, and optimizes business filing procedures. It has significantly reduced the cost for operating entities to manage centralized cross-border cash, improved the convenience of using cross-border funds, and effectively supported Guangdong enterprises in “going global” and accelerating the clustering of headquarters economy—winning widespread approval from businesses. As of the end of 2025, Guangdong’s entire provincial jurisdiction had a cumulative 133 lead enterprises carrying out cross-border cash pool business in both foreign and local currencies. The centralized foreign-debt and offshore lending quotas were 398.9 billion USD and 95.52 billion USD, respectively, benefiting 1,499 domestic and overseas member enterprises.

The “de-burdening” and “boosting efficiency” effects of foreign exchange business licensing reforms are gradually becoming evident. Since the launch of the bank foreign exchange business licensing reform, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange’s Guangdong branch has been proactively exploring a Guangdong-characteristic path for bank foreign exchange business licensing reform, seizing the opportunities of licensing reform and releasing policy dividends. On the one hand, by reconstructing business processes and establishing a “categorized management, differentiated service” mechanism, it builds a dynamic customer rating model. Through quantitative scoring, it rates enterprises’ foreign exchange compliance risks, and allocates review resources in a differentiated manner. For one class of customers, they can enjoy “no-review direct passage.” On the other hand, by streamlining management links and reconstructing service processes, it has significantly reduced the cost for enterprises to handle cross-border business, helping enterprises optimize capital management.

As of the end of 2025, Guangdong’s entire provincial jurisdiction had provided guidance to 21 banks covering 38 first-tier sub-branches to carry out licensing reforms. Within the jurisdiction, there were a total of 4,913 first-category customers. Based on instructions, they handled cross-border receipts and payments under current and other accounts totaling 188,600 transactions, with a total amount of 37.12 billion USD. The policy effects of “de-burdening” enterprises, “de-stressing” banks, and “enhancing quality” for supervision are gradually becoming visible.

Southern Finance: Faced with new foreign trade formats such as cross-border e-commerce and market procurement trade, what tailored cross-border funds settlement and financing solutions have been introduced?

Wu Yansheng: Cross-border e-commerce and market procurement trade and other new foreign trade formats often have the characteristics of “small amounts, high frequency, and digitization.”

In response to these characteristics, the People’s Bank of China’s Guangdong branch and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange’s Guangdong branch adhere to the principles of “encouraging innovation” and “being prudent and inclusive.” Focusing on settlement facilitation and financing support, they have rolled out a series of tailored solutions. The core is to apply technology empowerment and process reengineering, effectively reducing enterprise costs and improving capital efficiency. The main measures include:

Using the advantages of technology empowerment to support the electronic-document review for cross-border e-commerce. Support qualified banks and payment institutions to batch-review online transaction electronic information such as orders and logistics that are automatically generated. This changes the traditional trade review approach. Build a risk control system for matching and verifying electronic transaction information, and take the lead nationwide in implementing foreign exchange settlement business for foreign trade comprehensive service enterprises based on electronic transaction information. It provides broad small and micro cross-border e-commerce operating entities with efficient, convenient, and secure foreign exchange funds settlement solutions.

Optimize foreign exchange services and actively lower operating entities’ costs. For example, include cross-border e-commerce platforms, foreign trade comprehensive service enterprises, and the trustworthy clients they recommend into the scope of trade foreign exchange receipt and payment facilitation policies or high-level opening-up pilot programs, allowing them to enjoy dividends such as simplified documentary reviews and optimized funds settlement. Support cross-border e-commerce enterprises to net off export receivables with expenses incurred overseas such as warehousing, logistics, and taxes for settlement, reducing the frequency and cost of remittances. Support market procurement trade entities to collect and remit foreign exchange online via an integrated platform, without providing documents for each individual transaction.

In addition, it has also guided Guangdong’s banks’ foreign exchange and cross-border RMB business licensing self-discipline mechanism to formulate licensing self-discipline guidelines for cross-border e-commerce business, market procurement trade business, and new forms of international trade business, further improving the level of foreign exchange services for new trade formats offered by banks across the whole jurisdiction. By anchoring to the foreign exchange risk management needs of enterprises in new formats, it has guided municipal-level linkages with local commerce departments to optimize and extend existing support policies for foreign exchange risk management for small and micro enterprises, effectively reducing hedging costs for foreign exchange risks for small and micro trade enterprises.

Southern Finance: Guangdong is a trade hub between China and APEC economies such as ASEAN and Latin America. How does Guangdong improve the effectiveness of RMB use in economic and trade cooperation in the APEC region?

Wu Yansheng: In recent years, focusing on facilitating cross-border trade and serving the real economy, the People’s Bank of China’s Guangdong branch has taken multiple measures to continuously improve the effectiveness of RMB use in economic and trade cooperation in the APEC region.

First, optimize financial services to reduce enterprises’ settlement costs. Promote Guangdong’s successful implementation of the first batch of cross-border RMB settlement facilitation pilot programs nationwide, and then gradually expand them to cover the whole jurisdiction. Support enterprises to handle cross-border settlements directly based on instructions without submitting for document review. Promote “white-list” mutual recognition among pilot enterprises with places such as Chongqing and Jiangsu, continuing to reduce enterprises’ financial costs. By the end of 2025, there were about 3,700 high-quality enterprises across the whole jurisdiction, which had collectively handled cross-border RMB business exceeding 570 billion yuan.

Second, provide efficient settlement pathways to promote the development of new trade formats. Support “buy globally, sell globally” for cross-border e-commerce. Proactively guide banks and payment institutions to cooperate in providing efficient settlement channels for foreign trade enterprises, saving foreign exchange remittance and settlement process fees. In 2025, RMB settlement by entities of new formats exceeded 800 billion yuan, accounting for more than 90% of the proportion of total cross-border settlement volume of both foreign and domestic currencies.

Third, carry out policy briefings to help enterprises “go global.” Targeting regions where different APEC economies such as ASEAN and Latin America are located, actively organize special discussion sessions, invite overseas banks to interpret local investment and cross-border RMB settlement policies, and help nearly 500 Guangdong enterprises connect and coordinate with overseas banks, effectively solving issues such as settlement difficulties and blocked remittance routes in regions including Africa and Southeast Asia. In 2025, the cross-border RMB settlement volume for the “Belt and Road” and ASEAN regions within the whole jurisdiction increased significantly, with the regional structural share rising to 36.9%.

Next, we will continue to enrich the application scenarios for cross-border RMB use, further facilitate cross-border trade RMB settlement between enterprises in Guangdong and APEC economies such as ASEAN and Latin America, and build an efficient and convenient “RMB Silk Road” for Guangdong enterprises.

Southern Finance: “Institutional-level opening-up” means deeper alignment with international high-standard economic and trade rules. What explorations has Guangdong made in areas such as cross-border financial rule alignment and regulatory mutual recognition?

Wu Yansheng: In recent years, the People’s Bank of China’s Guangdong branch has actively promoted rule alignment and regulatory mutual recognition between Guangdong and the Hong Kong and Macao regions. It has made pioneering explorations in aligning with international high-standard economic and trade rules and in building a cross-border financial system for institutional-level opening-up. It has also actively implemented innovative pilot business such as “Cross-border Wealth Management Connect,” and the multi-functional free trade account system in Hengqin, further promoting interconnection and mutual access of the financial markets in the Greater Bay Area.

First, the “Cross-border Wealth Management Connect” pilot business has been further optimized, effectively facilitating cross-border investment by residents in the Bay Area. Since the “Cross-border Wealth Management Connect” pilot business was launched in 2021, it has for the first time opened up a new channel for individual cross-border investment for Bay Area residents. It has become an important marker of interconnection and mutual access of financial markets in the Bay Area, as well as a significant exploration of rule alignment and mechanism connection.

In 2024, “Cross-border Wealth Management Connect 2.0” was officially implemented. Based on the original foundation, it optimized investor eligibility entry thresholds, expanded the scope of participating institutions and eligible products, increased personal investor quotas, and optimized business handling procedures, further improving cooperation efficiency among financial institutions in the Bay Area and providing Bay Area residents with higher-quality financial services.

Since 2025, the People’s Bank of China’s Guangdong branch has promoted more pilot banks to add cooperating institutions or add business types. In cooperation with mainland regulatory bodies and Hong Kong and Macao regulatory bodies, it supports pilot institutions in using “three-party” online communication channels to serve investors. It issued 《Policy Q&A》 to standardize pilot institutions’ publicity and business expansion. This has effectively simplified financial service processes and, in a standardized and efficient manner, guided pilot institutions to provide high-quality cross-border financial services for Bay Area residents. By the end of 2025, 178,000 people across the three places of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao had participated in the “Cross-border Wealth Management Connect” pilot, with funds remittances totaling 131.3 billion yuan.

Second, the landing of the Hengqin multi-functional free trade accounts provides enterprises with efficient cross-border capital flow channels. The multi-functional free trade account (EF account) is a pilot taken up nationwide for the first time by the People’s Bank of China’s Guangdong branch. It explores high-level opening-up of the capital account and is an important innovative initiative for aligning and connecting financial rules and mechanisms between Guangdong and Macao. It can effectively support the financial service needs of business entities in the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone, and provide precise support for the integrated development of Zhuhai and Macao.

Since the issuance of the 《Administrative Measures for the Multi-functional Free Trade Account Business in the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone》 in April 2024, EF accounts have brought great convenience to account-opening enterprises in the key fields of the cooperation zone, such as high-end manufacturing, technology R&D, biopharmaceuticals, commercial trade, and cultural tourism. They have effectively supported high-quality development of the real economy in the Bay Area. By the end of 2025, 11 EF account pilot banks had cumulatively opened 693 accounts and handled RMB-denominated capital-related business totaling 441.9 billion yuan.

Southern Finance: Looking ahead, in terms of further deepening financial reform and opening-up and serving economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region, how will Guangdong continue to make efforts?

**Wu Yansheng: The People’s Bank of China’s Guangdong branch and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange’s Guangdong branch will help Guangdong firmly focus on the national strategy of high-level opening-up. Using service to economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region as an important focus, we will continue to play the role of the “testing ground” for financial reform and the “opening window.” We will deepen financial reform and opening-up continuously in five areas. **

First, continue to expand the pilot programs for high-level opening-up in cross-border trade investment. Guide banks to shift toward differentiated review based on customer and business risk assessments; increase support for the development of trade new formats such as cross-border e-commerce and intermediate goods trading; continue to provide efficient and well-matched settlement services to foreign trade comprehensive service enterprises; and support “Belt and Road” enterprises in conducting flexible trade settlement.

Second, deepen facilitation reform in key areas. Explore promoting the institutional rule and system alignment for cross-border investment and financing between Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao; fully implement financial reform and innovation policies supporting the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Hengqin Guangdong-Macao in-depth cooperation zone, Guangzhou Nansha, and so on. Further study and promote quality improvement and scale expansion of the cross-border cash pooling of multinational companies in both foreign currency and local currency, and explore raising the level of opening-up of the capital account.

Third, prudently and orderly handle matters related to bank business licensing reform. Strengthen guidance to key local corporate banks on business licensing reform, and steadily promote more banks to launch reforms. Accelerate the integration of licensing reform with various facilitation policies, and enhance the sense of gain that operating entities have regarding facilitation policies.

Fourth, continuously strengthen foreign exchange services and continue to optimize enterprises’ foreign exchange risk hedging services. Based on the realities of Guangdong’s characteristic industries, promote more enterprises to improve their foreign exchange risk management. Optimize personal foreign exchange management, promote two-way facilitation for personal foreign exchange use in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, further improve the convenience for foreign residents in China to use foreign exchange, expand the pilot program for facilitating settlement of overseas remittances, improve the pilot program for facilitating talent to use foreign exchange, and enhance policy benefits to the intended recipients.

Fifth, advance cross-border RMB business in depth. Further facilitate the cross-border use of RMB during the “going global” process for enterprises in key countries and regions, help financial institutions do a good job in providing services, and promote facilitation in commodity trade. Continuously improve the depth and breadth of implementing pilot policies such as free trade accounts and “Cross-border Wealth Management Connect.”