China to embrace new fintech challenges with innovation, prudence: official

BEIJING -- Faced with rapidly evolving financial technology (fintech), China will continue to maintain an innovative and prudent approach in embracing new challenges, a Chinese official said Tuesday.

As the off-counter transaction rate of Chinese banks has exceeded 90 percent and financial services are highly dependent on the internet, cybersecurity needs to be highlighted, said Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC).

Guo made the remarks while delivering a speech at the Singapore Fintech Festival, which runs from Dec 7 to 12.

Fairer market competition will be pursued, as tech giants can use data monopoly advantages to hinder fair competition and obtain excess returns, Guo added.

He called for strict monitoring of large companies to prevent them from obstructing the entry of new organizations, collecting data in unusual ways and refusing to share information that should be disclosed.

Guo noted that fintech has developed rapidly in China and the digital transformation of financial institutions accelerated with more products and tools, improving the efficiency of financial services.

China has also learned lessons in handling challenges brought about by fintech, he said.

The number of Chinese peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders had fallen to zero by mid-November from a peak of about 5,000 due to the country's ongoing efforts to crack down on risky forms of financing.

Fintech is a term used to describe financial technology, an industry encompassing any kind of technology in financial services.