Financial "lifeblood" precisely irrigates the real economy

This article is adapted from: Liberation Daily

Listed banks release 2025 performance reports: China’s economy is making steady progress and shifting toward higher-quality development driven by innovation—clear and distinct development lines

Financial “fresh capital” precisely targets support for the real economy

Wu Yu / Li Yanxia

Xinhua News Agency reporters Wu Yu, Li Yanxia

Recently, listed banks have released their 2025 performance reports in quick succession, outlining where credit funds flow and how they are allocated. Finance is a mirror of the economy. By looking at the “flow of money,” China’s economy is making steady progress and moving toward higher-quality development driven by innovation, with clear and distinct development lines.

The continuous injection of financial “fresh capital” is an important guarantee for the steady advance of the real economy. In 2025, listed banks increased the intensity of credit lending. The six major state-owned banks—Industrial, Agricultural, Bank of China, Construction, Bank of Communications, and Postal Savings—collectively recorded total new loans of over RMB 9.4 trillion in the year.

“While leading with overall scale, we pay even more attention to optimizing the structure and pacing of lending. Key areas such as manufacturing, strategic emerging industries, green finance, and inclusive finance maintained relatively fast growth, and the role of state-owned large banks as the main force in serving the real economy has been brought into strong play.” Industrial and Commercial Bank of China President Liu Jun said the common trend in where banks’ funds are flowing—shifting from “expansion in quantity” to “improvement in quality,” with precise “drip irrigation” into key areas of the real economy.

Reviewing the annual reports of listed banks, many figures confirm this trend. By the end of 2025, Industrial Bank’s manufacturing-loan balance exceeded RMB 5.2 trillion, up nearly 20% year over year; Construction Bank’s loans to strategic emerging industries grew 23.46% year over year; and Agricultural Bank’s new county-area lending exceeded RMB 1 trillion, while farmers’ loan balance grew 22.4% year over year.

Which areas are attracting more “capital”? This is evident from changes in credit structure. After reviewing the annual reports, the reporter found that in the various sectors of the “five major articles,” many banks including Industrial, Agricultural, and Bank of China, among others, saw notably significant growth in loans across each area.

Specifically, technology-based enterprises are winning more and more attention and funding. By the end of 2025, Industrial Bank’s technology loans balance exceeded RMB 6 trillion, growing by nearly 20%; Construction Bank’s technology loans balance was RMB 5.25 trillion, up 18.91%; Bank of Communications’ loans to technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises grew at a year-over-year rate of 36.29%; and CITIC Bank’s coverage rate of services to national-level “specialized, sophisticated, distinctive, and innovative” enterprises reached 98.48%.

Retirement finance is also a key area where banks are stepping up efforts, with businesses in related fields maintaining rapid growth. By the end of 2025, Industrial Bank’s pension management scale for all types reached RMB 5.9 trillion, up 18.5%; Construction Bank and Bank of Communications’ loans to the pension industry both grew at around 50%; and CITIC Bank’s lending to the pension industry grew by more than onefold.

In addition, in the inclusive finance sector, many banks have also performed exceptionally well. According to the annual reports, by the end of 2025, CITIC Bank’s loans to inclusive small and micro enterprises rose to 11% of the bank’s total loan balance; and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank’s inclusive finance featured product “Puhui Loan” had a balance that grew 192% compared with the end of the previous year. This is according to an Xinhua News Agency report from Beijing on April 1.