The headquarters of the People's Bank of China in Beijing Photo: IC

China's credit reporting industry began with credit-related data and, after nearly 30 years of development, it has established the world's largest and most comprehensive public credit information system, Ren Yongmei, an official with the People's Bank of China, said at a press conference on Wednesday.

China's database credit information has ranked among the world's top for many consecutive years in the World Bank's business environment assessments. By the end of 2024, it had collected credit data on 1.16 billion individuals and 140 million enterprises and organizations, and facilitated 6.7 billion credit report inquiries, Ren said.

Credit reports from China's financial credit database have become a functional "economic ID," offering customers a full view of an individual's or enterprise's creditworthiness. Those with solid records — like on-time payments and fulfilled contracts — enjoy easier and more favorable access to financing, Ren said.

China's credit system is "the foundation of a market economy," Tian Yun, a veteran economist, told the Global Times on Wednesday. With over 1.1 billion individuals covered, "this scale is unprecedented globally," he said, adding that a sound credit system supports social stability, domestic economic circulation and long-term development.

"A trusted credit system not only ensures market order at the macro level, but also encourages enterprises and individuals to maintain their creditworthiness and establish good credit records, and access better opportunities. A healthy market economy relies on this two-way dynamic," he said.

Tian said the maturity of China's credit system gives it strategic value in advancing regional economic integration. "If China leads the next wave of globalization, this system is already technically and institutionally prepared to scale from serving 1 billion to 2 billion or even 3 billion people," he said. Its structure could not only support future international cooperation, but also serve as a model for other countries building their own credit systems.

Looking ahead, Tian suggested improving data integration across platforms to build a unified, user-friendly credit system — like a social credit "dashboard" accessible anytime. Such transparency, he said, would promote responsible behaviours and strengthen mutual trust, fostering a virtuous cycle of incentives and accountability.

China on Monday published a guideline to improve the social credit system amid efforts to promote its high-quality development. The guideline, issued by the General Office of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council, consists of 23 measures with the aim to build a unified national market while maintaining a fair and orderly competitive market environment, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Under the guideline, a social credit system covering all types of entities, featuring unified rules and regulations, and being jointly built and with shared benefits, should be established to promote deep integration of the social credit system into all aspects of social and economic development, according to Xinhua.

Global Times