(From 2nd left to right) Gu Shu, chairman of Agricultural Bank of China, Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, Zhao Huan, chairman of China Development Bank, Luo Xi, chairman of the People's Insurance Corporation of China, Song Shuguang, chairman of China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation attend a press conference in Beijing, March 2, 2021. (PHOTO/SCIO.GOV.CN)

BEIJING - China has made "decisive achievements" in preventing and addressing financial risks in its banking and insurance sectors, the country's top banking and insurance regulator said on Tuesday.

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China has also made strides in dealing with its non-performing loans, with a total of 8.8 trillion yuan (about US$1.36 trillion) of such loans handled in the past four years, Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission

To forestall the financial risks, the country has prioritized deleveraging its financial sectors, with the trend of "blind expansion" of financial assets fundamentally reversed, said Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), at a press conference.

From 2017 to 2020, the banking systems' assets grew at an average rate of 8.3 percent annually, while the insurance sector saw its total assets expand at 11.4 percent on average per year. The growth rates are roughly half of the levels from 2009 to 2016, data from the CBIRC showed.

China has also made strides in dealing with its non-performing loans, with a total of 8.8 trillion yuan (about US$1.36 trillion) of such loans handled in the past four years, Guo noted.

The "shadow banking" businesses also shrank by 20 trillion yuan from the peak time, Guo added.

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In terms of the property market, Guo said that the bubble of real estate financialization had been curbed, as indicators showed that the growth rate of loans in the real estate market last year was lower than that in other sectors for the first time in the past eight years.

The incremental risk over local governments' hidden debt has been basically controlled, Guo said, adding that the country is making progress in defusing the risks in the field in an orderly manner.