China unveils guidelines for Internet finance

China has rolled out a raft of policies and measures to support innovation and minimize risk to ensure healthy development of Internet finance.

To promote the sound and steady progress of the online finance industry, the country will regulate market order and further clear regulatory responsibilities, according to the guidelines jointly released on Saturday by ten central government ministries and industry regulators, including the People's Bank of China, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Finance and China Securities Regulatory Commission.

The guidelines highlight overall requirements for authorities in supporting Internet finance.

Governments at all levels should actively encourage innovation in e-finance platforms, products and services, according to the guidelines, and cooperation between financial actors in the industry should be protected and encouraged.

They state that governments should help expand access to capital for market players, government red tape should be cut, and related fiscal and taxation policies should be improved to avoid risks for the industry's development.

The guidelines also say that support services and infrastructure for the industry should be improved.