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Preface
I have spent about 30 years of my career in the financial field, a historic period when the reform of China's financial system was deepened and its opening up expanded.
After stepping down as president of the Industrial. and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) in 2013, whenever I recall the past, I feel fortunate. It is not because I initially studied machinery manufacturing, then switched from a factory to a bank halfway in my career and unexpectedly became the president of the world's largest bank, but because compared with those who preceded me in the bank and my young colleagues who came after me, l had the privilege to witness and participate in the most important process of China's financial reform. That is indeed a fare opportunity in life.
During this process, I wrote about some of my views and opinions on the reform and development of the banking industry. After leaving office, I compiled them into a book, The Cruciallssues of Banking Reform: Hot Topics, Difficulties and Key Points, which was accepted by CITIC Publishing House. After the publication of the book, the readers' response seemed to be OK and the book was reprinted several times. In the following three years, I published some more articles, more than 10 without having planned to do so. This time, the People's Publishing House hoped that I could combine the 'new writing' with the old ones for a new book, In the face of such a warm invitation, in addition to being grateful, I also felt a lot of pressure.
I have always thought that while the banking industry has many parts, I know about only one or two of them. I'm not trying to be modest. The longer you have worked in the fmancial industry and the more things you have experienced, the more you will agree with
me. Therefore, I really can't say how much value these articles have or whether they are worth printing and publishing again. However,
as a person who experienced the reform of China's financial industry, especially the banking industry, fof so many years, I realize that I have the responsibility to record my views and insights on certain issues. The grand picture of China's financial reform is in fact made up of pieces, both large and small, like a jigsaw puzzle.
If those views and insights I have gained over the years can make up a small piece in the huge colorful jigsaw puzzle, then it will have some meaning.
The articles in this book were written during my 14 years as the president of China Huarong Asset Management Corporation and the president of ICBC, and also in the nearly three years since I left office. Therefore, this book is called Noting Down China's Financial Reform. Since the articles have a wide time span and cover a range of topics, at the beginning of each article I have added a brief 'author's note' to explain the background and circumstances when writing it.