Strong growth momentum comes as a result of adhering to new philosophy
China Development Bank, one of China's major banks, has faithfully implemented the new development philosophy of innovation, coordination, green growth, openness and sharing in 2021 and made remarkable achievements in pushing forward the country's high-quality development.
CDB delivered strong growth momentum in 2021 as it adhered to the new development philosophy when serving the real economy, preventing financial risks and deepening financial reforms, a bank executive said.
Last year, the bank registered 2.99 trillion yuan ($473 billion) worth of loans in renminbi and foreign currencies. Meanwhile, its RMB loan balance rose by 650 billion yuan. The loans were used to support the country's key development strategies and address weaknesses, ensuring a strong start to the nation's 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), CDB said.
Fostering innovation
CDB has continued to optimize its financial services in recent years with the aim of creating a virtuous circle for finance, industries and research.
It adopted market-oriented approaches to help basic research solve funding difficulties, while working closely with universities, research institutes and high-tech enterprises to advance the application and transformation of key technologies.
Last year, a special loan was set up for major scientific and technological research.
CDB said the loan will reach 300 billion yuan by the end of 2025 and provide long-term support to national laboratories and national technological innovation centers.
The bank also put a heavy emphasis on advanced manufacturing industries and strategic emerging industries, with loans of 491.7 billion yuan handed out in 2021, according to CDB's data.
The money was mainly invested in industrial upgrades, key industrial chains and new infrastructure construction including 5G base stations and big data centers, CDB said.
Coordinated initiative
In January, the Hangzhou-Shaoxing-Taizhou intercity high-speed railway was put into operation in East China's Zhejiang province.
With a maximum designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour, the 266.9-km new line greatly shortens travel time between major cities in Zhejiang and will boost high-quality development in the Yangtze River Delta region.
CDB made loans of 12 billion yuan to the project, accounting for 26.7 percent of the total investment.
"It's a shining example of how CDB facilitated the integrated regional development," a representative from the bank said.
By the end of last year, the Yangtze River Delta region received loans of up to 480.4 billion yuan from CDB, involving fields such as infrastructure construction, public services and international cooperation.
The bank has strengthened collaboration with local authorities and established an interdepartmental mechanism to implement the country's key strategies for regional development, the representative said. In the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the bank focuses on transportation, environmental protection and industrial upgrades. It granted loans of 558.7 billion yuan in 2021 to support projects such as the Daxing International Airport Economic Zone and the intelligent container wharves in Tianjin Port. It made breakthroughs in the integrated transport of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the industrial upgrading action and the environmental protection.
To promote the development of the Yellow River basin, CDB teamed up with nine provincial-level regions along the river, including Shanxi and Gansu, while also providing 149.6 billion yuan for water conservation, cultural preservation and infrastructure construction. In addition, the bank financed a comprehensive national science center in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as part of its efforts to help the area become a sci-tech powerhouse in the coming years.
Green financing
CDB is the first financial institution in China to join the United Nations Global Compact, an initiative that encourages businesses across the world to implement sustainability principles and social responsibility policies.
With sustainability as one of its core values, it has stepped up its financial services to boost the country's green growth.
In Taian, Shandong province, the bank made loans of 2.45 billion yuan to a large waste sorting project.
The project will cover the entire city, providing multiple services including garbage classification, transportation and treatment. More than 5.5 million local residents will benefit from it, CDB said.
Garbage and sewage treatment was one of CDB's priorities in 2021 to support sustainable development.
It has launched an environmental campaign which plans to select 100 counties across the country and give them loans totaling 100 billion yuan to build advanced garbage and sewage treatment facilities.
By the end of last year, the campaign had extended to 200 counties and over 150 billion yuan had been issued.
CDB also expanded its loan offerings to clean energy industries, in response to the country's call for carbon peak and carbon neutrality.
In March 2021, the bank's first carbon-neutral bond was issued with an issuance size of 20 billion yuan.
CDB said all the capital raised will flow into projects designed for emission reduction, especially such projects in the electric power industry. So far, CDB has issued 120 billion yuan worth of green bonds, with a total balance of up to 110 billion yuan.
Global cooperation
CDB played a positive role in multilateral financial cooperation last year as it organized the third council meeting of the China-Central and Eastern Europe Interbank Association as well as the 11th executive board meeting of the China-ASEAN Interbank Association. Bank leaders also attended the 17th meeting of the council of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Interbank Consortium.
CDB is committed to achieving shared growth through consultation and collaboration, a bank executive said.
"We hope to make a contribution to further international cooperation and regional economic prosperity," he added.
As one of the main banks for China's foreign investment and financing cooperation, CDB has followed market principles and international rules, offering numerous financial services to projects under the Belt and Road Initiative.
For example, it promised to loan $4.5 billion yuan to the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway, which is a landmark project of the BRI as well as a national strategic project in Indonesia.
The rail line is expected to promote local economic and social progress after full operation, while fostering Sino-Indonesian economic and trade cooperation, according to State-owned China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group, one of the project's builders.
CDB also organized a variety of training activities to expand people-to-people exchanges. A scholarship was also established to sponsor excellent young people from BRI-related countries to study in China.
Improving livelihoods
CDB drew up a detailed plan and rolled out 42 targeted measures last year to help guarantee people's livelihoods and enhance the sense of happiness.
As a result, it provided financial aid of 155 billion yuan in 2021 for affordable rental housing and the renovation of old urban residential communities.
In July 2021 when Central China's Henan province suffered severe rainstorms, CDB initiated its emergency response and issued special loans of 1.8 billion yuan for flood prevention and relief.
Most of the capital was allocated to hard-hit cities such as Zhengzhou, Xinxiang and Gongyi for reinforcing flood control facilities as well as repairing infrastructure after waters recede, the bank said.
It also made loans worth 412.8 billion yuan during the past year to shore up rural development.
Of the total, some 85.7 billion yuan was distributed to the country's 160 key counties for rural revitalization.
Meanwhile, 146.8 billion yuan was spent on infrastructure construction of rural areas, covering rural roads, houses, and power supply.
As one of the major issuers of national student loans, CDB is dedicated to increasing the affordability of higher education and ensuring fair access for students. Last year, the bank's student loans hit a record high of 37.9 billion yuan, benefiting 4.67 million students with economic hardship.
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