In this Oct 19, 2020 photo, workers are busy at the factory of a manufacturing company in Shijiazhuang, North China's Hebei province. (LIANG ZIDONG / XINHUA)

BEIJING - China's top banking and insurance regulator on Monday issued a circular urging efforts to continue the rapid growth of medium and long-term loans to the manufacturing sector.

Banking and insurance institutions should optimize resource allocation and improve services to support the manufacturing sector, said the circular released by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

The circular said banks should shore up financial support and innovate to develop products and services in key areas, such as advanced manufacturing, strategic emerging industries

It said banks should shore up financial support and innovate to develop products and services in key areas, such as advanced manufacturing, strategic emerging industries and the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries.

Banks should actively and steadily develop financial supply chain services to support upstream and downstream enterprises, while insurance companies should fine-tune risk protection services for manufacturers and sci-tech insurance services, it said.

Banks are also required to focus on weak links in the manufacturing industry and implement current financial support policies well by extending deferred loan payments for smaller businesses and companies hit hard by the pandemic.

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The circular also stressed the importance of stepping up internal control and comprehensive risk management in banking and insurance institutions, urging banks to deal with non-performing loans to manufacturing companies better and insurance firms to improve solvency risk management.