China's CSRC Holds Capital Markets Forum, Outlines Key Reform Priorities

Wu Qing, party secretary and chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), convened a high-profile symposium in Beijing on 10 October 2026, gathering executives from listed companies and experts from securities and fund institutions to exchange views on the current state of China's capital markets and the broader financial environment.

The forum signals that China's securities regulator is actively soliciting market input as it refines its policy toolkit, with participants reaching a broad consensus that the economy is improving and that the capital markets' trajectory toward high-quality development remains intact — even as specific risks and challenges persist.

What happened

The CSRC symposium on 10 October brought together senior representatives of listed companies and specialists from securities and fund institutions for an in-depth exchange with Chairman Wu Qing. According to the CSRC's account of the meeting, all participants agreed that China's macroeconomy is improving steadily, that industrial-structure transformation is deepening, and that the capital markets are operating in a broadly stable manner, with the multi-tiered market structure functioning effectively.

Participants acknowledged that risks and challenges remain, but expressed confidence that the trend toward high-quality development will not be reversed. Wu Qing told attendees that listed companies and industry institutions are key market participants, and called on them to contribute actively to building better capital markets, rewarding investors and supporting China's modernisation drive.

Key conclusions from the forum

Experts at the 10 October symposium put forward a set of concrete recommendations for promoting the stable and healthy development of China's capital markets. The CSRC summarised the main proposals as follows:

• Strengthen market-stabilisation mechanisms on a sustained basis, further broaden the sources, channels and modes of entry for long-term and medium-term capital, and develop and expand "patient capital."
• Encourage eligible listed companies to increase dividends and share buybacks, and improve mechanisms for investor returns and rights protection.
• Optimise the issuance and listing system to support the growth of diverse, high-quality enterprises across different types and industries.
• Strengthen trading supervision and enhance cross-border risk monitoring and response capabilities.
• Research and stockpile additional incremental policy tools to be deployed as conditions require.

Context: the reform backdrop

The 10 October forum takes place against a backdrop of sustained regulatory reform. The State Council's "New Nine Articles" — a sweeping set of guidelines issued in April 2024 to strengthen supervision, prevent risks and promote high-quality capital-market development — have been accompanied by nearly 70 supporting policy documents, according to the CSRC's own account of the reform programme.

Since those measures were introduced, long-term institutional funds — including social security, insurance and pension assets — have increased their holdings of A-share circulating market capitalisation by 85% and made net purchases of approximately 1.3 trillion yuan in A shares, according to the CSRC. Over the same period, dividends and buybacks by A-share companies reached more than three times the value of equity financing raised in the same window, the regulator has stated.

The CSRC has also reported that enforcement activity has been substantial: some 1,358 cases of various types were investigated over the reform period, with fines and confiscations totalling 35.3 billion yuan, as the regulator pursued insider trading, market manipulation and false disclosure.

How do the forum conclusions fit the broader policy agenda?

The recommendations aired on 10 October closely echo themes Wu Qing set out at the 2026 Lujiazui Forum in June, where he called for further deepening reforms to the STAR Market and ChiNext board, accelerating the cultivation of patient capital, and expanding investment products and tools — including active exchange-traded funds and commercial real-estate REITs. The consistency between the June speech and the October forum suggests the CSRC is reinforcing, rather than pivoting from, its existing strategic direction.

On the structural side, the CSRC has previously noted that technology-sector companies now account for more than 30% of total A-share market capitalisation, and that technology enterprises represent 45% of listed companies with a market value exceeding 100 billion yuan. The forum's call to support diverse, high-quality enterprises across sectors reflects the regulator's stated ambition to make the listing system more inclusive and adaptive.

Cross-border risk and trading supervision

The explicit mention of cross-border risk monitoring at the 10 October forum is notable. The CSRC has previously stated its intention to strengthen cross-border regulatory coordination, crack down on unlicensed cross-border business activity, and support qualified foreign investors in accessing domestic markets through proper channels — including the gradual participation of Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (QFII) in domestic government-bond futures trading.

The forum's call to tighten trading supervision also aligns with the regulator's broader stance on market integrity. The CSRC has stated it will continue to pursue a "tough and sharp" supervisory approach covering the full chain of capital-market activity, from issuance and listing through to delisting, and will work with public-security and judicial authorities to combat financial fraud.

Why it matters

The 10 October symposium matters for investors in Chinese equities — including those tracking the CSI 300 Index and the Shanghai Composite Index — because it provides a direct window into the CSRC's near-term policy thinking. The emphasis on broadening long-term capital inflows and on building a reserve of incremental policy tools suggests the regulator retains room to act if market conditions deteriorate, while the focus on dividends and buybacks points to continued pressure on listed companies to improve shareholder returns.

The forum's consensus that high-quality development remains on track, despite acknowledged risks, also carries a signalling function: the CSRC is seeking to anchor confidence among both domestic and international investors at a time when global financial markets remain volatile and trade tensions continue to weigh on sentiment.

What to watch next

Several policy developments flagged in the CSRC's recent communications are worth monitoring in the months ahead:

• Incremental policy tools: The forum explicitly called for researching and stockpiling additional measures; any announcement of new stabilisation instruments would be a key market event.
• Listing and issuance reform: The CSRC has indicated it will revise the rules governing listed-company securities issuance registration, and accelerate the introduction of shelf-offering mechanisms.
• STAR Market reforms: Two near-term measures were flagged at the June Lujiazui Forum — expanding the fifth listing standard to cover artificial intelligence companies, and opening the board to more "hard technology" sectors including quantum computing, bio-manufacturing and embodied intelligence.
• Active ETFs and REITs: The CSRC has signalled plans to support the launch of active ETFs on the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges, and has initiated a commercial real-estate REIT pilot.
• RMB FX futures pilot: The regulator has stated it is working with the People's Bank of China to prepare a renminbi foreign-exchange futures pilot, including contract design and risk-control arrangements.
• First China Capital Market Academic Annual Conference: The CSRC has announced plans to convene this inaugural event, which is intended to serve as a high-level think-tank platform.