Liu made the remarks at the three-day Annual Working Conference of CBRC held in Beijing recently, saying the year of 2006 is the final year of the transitional period for the country's banking industry before the industry will widely open up to foreign banks.

In addition, CBRC plans to revise the Regulations on Management of Foreign Financial Institutions and the Detailed Rules on Management of Foreign Financial Institutions.

Meanwhile, CBRC will also clear up the existing supervisory regulations for the foreign-funded banks, said Liu, adding that the industry will gradually widen the business scope and promote cooperation between Chinese and foreign banks on the basis of mutual benefit.

Liu noted that CBRC is also striving to unify the monitoring and supervision rules for both Chinese and foreign-funded banks and offer fair environment for common development.

Liu unveiled that CBRC will also step up reforms of all the financial institutions, including state-owned commercial banks. It will work out the guidelines on governance and supervision over share reforms of large state-owned commercial banks this year, urging them to step up cooperation with strategic inventors. At the same time, the pace of financial reform in rural areas will be accelerated.

Liu also said that CBRC will continue to guide the restructuring of the Everbright Bank of China and Guangdong Development Bank, and enhance reform and supervisions in the non-bank financial institutions. It will accelerate the development of leasing industry. It will encourage qualified enterprise groups to set up financial companies and support powerful Chinese automakers to start auto financial companies.