China for the first time set a goal to “accelerate building a financial powerhouse,” and put the Communist Party in charge of achieving it, at the government’s twice-a-decade Central Financial Work Conference.

In the sixth such financial meeting since 1997, the conference emphasized that finance is the lifeblood of the national economy and the key to the country’s core competitiveness. Each of the past five meetings focused on different issues and tasks, reflecting the shifting challenges faced by China’s financial system.