On December 15, sponsored by the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and co-sponsored by Peking University, Renmin University of China and East China University of Political Science and Law (ECUPL), the 6th SSE Forum on Rule of Law was held in Shanghai with the theme of the legal construction on the capital market in the new era. Huang Wei, Assistant to Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), and SSE Chairman Wu Qing attended and made addresses at the forum. Also present at the forum were more than 100 attendees including the representatives, experts and scholars from legislative, judicial and regulatory authorities, universities and research institutes and the market participants.
Huang said at the forum that the 19th CPC National Congress and the National Financial Work Conference have pointed out the way forward, set clear objectives and planned the development path for the reform, development and legal construction on China's capital market in the new era. In order to energetically promote the rule of law on the capital market in the new era, we must always adhere to the Party's leadership, the concept of people first, the integration of rule of law and rule of virtue, the approach based on the actual conditions of China's capital market, and the comprehensive support for the reform and development of the capital market.
Huang pointed out that the revision and improvement of the laws and regulations such as the Securities Law that is being advanced at present is the basic, crucial and leading work in the legal construction of the capital market in the new era. From the perspective of the top-level design and overall planning for the reform and development of the capital market, we should focus on responding to the following demands: first of all, we should enhance the ability of the capital market to support the real economy. We should, in strict accordance with the requirements for the supply-side structural reform and accelerating the development of an innovative nation, work hard to provide abundant financing products and services for the real economy and innovation and entrepreneurship, steadily push forward the reform of the stock issuance system, further improve the acquisition and reorganization system of the listed companies and make reasonable arrangements for differentiated regulatory system for the multi-level market. Secondly, we should effectively prevent and control financial risks. We should enhance the integration in financial legislation, establish the unified regulatory standards for securities products with the same or similar functions, improve the market trading system, and strive to set up the mechanism for prevention and control of systematic risks. Thirdly, we should embrace the wave of technological innovation. It is necessary to actively respond to the new challenges for the market regulation brought by the development of science and technology, reserve the institutional space for encouraging and standardizing scientific and technological innovation, and vest the regulatory authorities with technological means and power of law and regulation enforcement in line with the development and level of technological innovation. Fourthly, we should strengthen the protection for the investors. We should further improve the system of the investors exercising rights and the judicial relief system, and reasonably arrange for the public power to provide relief for the private rights of disadvantaged investors. Fifthly, we should strengthen the responsibility investigation into violations. It is necessary to further improve the criminal legislation on the crimes in securities and futures, strengthen the legal responsibility for securities law-breaking administration, improve the legal liability system for compensation for civil infringement in securities, and raise the economic costs for breaking the law. Sixthly, we should improve the regulatory systems and mechanisms for the capital market. It is necessary to effectively deal with the challenges of complexity, concealment, professionalism and confrontation in the regulation of the securities market, make efforts to solve the problems in the function orientation of the law and regulation enforcement, authority allocation, resource guarantee and insufficient means, further establish the legal status and authority of the exchanges as the first line of defense in market regulation, and vigorously explore specialized judicial arrangements that are compatible with the centralized and unified regulation of the capital market. Seventhly, we should orderly expand the opening up of the capital market. We should provide support of the legal system for the participation of the domestic market in international competition, the issuance and listing of overseas entities in China and the expansion of the interconnection of the markets at home and abroad, improve the system of cross-border regulatory cooperation, and build the partnership for law and regulation enforcement in supervision featuring mutual respect and equal consultation.
Wu said in his welcoming address that the decisions and deployments of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on the reform and development of the capital market have emphasized the need to strengthen regulation, deepen reform and guard against risks within the framework of the rule of law. As an important member of the capital market system, the SSE has always attached importance to the legal construction in the market, and strived to use thinking of rule of law and law-based ways in fulfilling all responsibilities. In recent years, in accordance with the unified arrangements of the CSRC as well as the requirements for law-based, comprehensive and strict regulation, the SSE has consolidated its front-line regulatory responsibilities, and stepped up the in-process regulatory intervention by focusing on preventing and cracking down on "unfair transactions". In addition, relying on the legal institution and regulation, the SSE has advanced the implementation of the strategies of blue-chip market and internationalization, and effectively enhanced its capacity for supporting the real economy. The revised "Measures for Administration of Securities Exchanges" has provided strong institutional support for the SSE in better performing its duties on the track of rule of law. While accelerating the market development and intensifying the front-line regulation, the SSE will give more play to the important role of rule of law in promoting the reform and development of the capital market.
Professor Ye Qing, President of ECUPL, said in his speech that the law schools like ECUPL have always paid close attention to and vigorously participated in the legal construction in the capital market, making due efforts in advancing the rule of law on the capital market in the new era. Relevant academic research will highly focus on the actual demands in the development of the capital market, find out the institutional solutions to major theoretical and practical problems, and provide a strong theoretical support and feasible institutional proposals for the improvement of the legal system for China's capital market.
When presiding over the forum, Cheng Hehong, Chief of the Law Department of CSRC, briefed the participants on the latest progress in the development of the "pillars" legal system, an important foundation for the rule of law in the capital market. He proposed that the adaptability, moderation and effectiveness in market regulation should be effectively enhanced so as to form a benign promotion and cycle mechanism between reform and innovation in the market mechanism, market functioning and prevention and control of market risks.
The experts in theoretical and practical circles including Prof. Wang Liming, President of the Civil Law Society, Prof. Zhang Shouwen, President of the Economic Law Society, Prof. Zhao Xudong and Prof. Gu Gongyun, President and Vice President of the Commercial Law Society, and Prof. Guo Feng, President of Securities Law Society of the China Law Society, Prof. Zhang Weiguo, former director of the International Accounting Standards Board, Mr. Xu Ming, General Manager of China Securities Investor Services Center, and Lu Wendao, chief lawyer for the SSE, delivered wonderful keynote speeches on the corporate social responsibility, proper and effective regulation, revision and improvement of the corporation law, institutional supply for the offering and listing of technological innovation companies, accelerating the revision of the securities law, the legal responsibility of independent auditors, advancing the 3-dimensional mechanism for protection of small and medium-sized investors, capital civilization and institutional guarantee in the acquisition of listed companies and other topics. The participating experts and scholars brainstormed on the six general topics of "Philosophy and Logic of Securities Regulation", "Support of the Capital Market for Real Economy and Institutional Supply", "Quality Improvement of Listed Companies in Supply-Side Structural Reform", "Improvement of Acquisition System for Listed Companies", "Regulation of Intermediaries in Securities Market" and "Cracking down on Securities Violations", and provided beneficial suggestions for improving the system and regulation of the capital market.
The "SSE Forum on Rule of Law" was held against the background of the whole country earnestly studying and implementing the requirements of the 19th CPC National Congress. The forum was designed to pool the wisdom and strength of experts and scholars, summarize the legal practice in the capital market development in recent years, thoroughly study the major theoretical and practical issues of the legal system in the reform and development of the capital market in the new era, and jointly push the legal construction in the capital market to a new level.
