The opening-up of China’s financial market will bring ample benefits, and it is a necessary step for the country’s economic transition, according to experts, reports Xinhua from Beijing.

Opening-up in the banking and insurance sectors will help optimize the allocation of financial resources, so that they can better serve the real economy, said Chen Wenhui, vice chairman of China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC).

Over the past 40 years, foreign investment has helped with the development of China’s banking and insurance sectors in terms of corporate governance and risk management, Chen said at the Tsinghua PBCSF Global Finance Forum, which opened Saturday in Beijing.

China has ample room for further opening-up. At the end of 2017, the total assets of foreign-funded banks accounted for only 1.32 per cent of total assets of China’s banking industry, far behind the over 10 per cent seen in many developed markets and other BRICS economies, according to Chen.