Chongqing - Chongqing recently hosted a technology finance conference to strengthen ties between banks, venture capital firms and technology companies, as the western Chinese municipality works to build a stronger innovation ecosystem.
The 2026 Chongqing Technology Finance Ecosystem Conference and "416" Scientific and Technological Achievements Transformation Session was held at Chongqing Science Hall as part of the Conference on Financial Support for High-Quality Development in Chongqing. More than 300 representatives from government departments, financial institutions, venture capital firms, universities, research institutes, and technology companies attended.
The 2026 Chongqing Technology Finance Ecosystem Conference and "416" Scientific and Technological Achievements Transformation Session were launched on July 3. (Photo/Chongqing Municipal Science and Technology Bureau)
At the conference, 132 projects in digital intelligence technology, life and health, new materials, and green and low-carbon industries were recommended to financial and venture capital institutions. 11 projects were signed on site, with financing demand exceeding 2 billion yuan (about 290 million U.S. dollars).
Jian Na, deputy director of the Credit Market Department of the People's Bank of China, said the central bank has worked with relevant parties in recent years to introduce policies supporting technological innovation. Loans to technology-focused small and medium-sized enterprises have grown at about 20% in recent years, while technology innovation bonds have reached about 3 trillion yuan in cumulative issuance. She said venture capital and private equity investments have also seen a broad recovery.
Jian said the People's Bank of China will continue to deepen structural reform on the financial supply side, use relending tools to support technological innovation and equipment upgrading, build and develop the technology board of the bond market, and improve supporting policies and the market ecosystem for technology finance.
Han Jing, vice president of China Construction Bank, said the bank has reshaped technology finance through a systematic, ecosystem-based and full-process approach. She said its services have expanded from technology companies to basic research, applied research and development, technology commercialization and industrial innovation.
As of the end of June 2026, China Construction Bank had served more than 26,000 technology companies in Chongqing, with technology loan balances exceeding 100 billion yuan. It had also established six actively managed funds in Chongqing, with a scale of 10.9 billion yuan, and made equity investment returns to 20 Chongqing companies totaling more than 6 billion yuan.
Industry experts also discussed capital markets, venture capital and risk protection. Xie Chao, managing director of CICC Global Institute, said the distributed and inclusive nature of capital markets can help address static and dynamic uncertainties in leading innovation. Zhang Minghe, chairman of CCB Investment, said financial institutions can build full-cycle services for the "416" scientific and technological innovation layout, covering the "0-1, 1-10 and 10-100" growth stages, using equity, loans, bonds, insurance and leasing.
Wang Jianyong, head of PICC's Technology Insurance Center, said insurers should develop products covering research and development, pilot-scale transformation, transaction transfer and application promotion. Wang Xindong, vice president of Shenzhen Capital Group, said venture capital institutions can focus on hard technology fields such as new-generation information technology and artificial intelligence through a model combining full-chain fund deployment with full-life-cycle company support.
Wang said venture capital firms should follow a long-term investment approach and provide financing services that match different stages of technology companies' growth.
Liu Liqun, managing partner and chief investment officer of Hongtai Fund, said industrial investment during the 15th Five-Year Plan period can focus on three areas. In AI terminals, he pointed to SoC chips, modules, smart hardware, data centers and commercial AI applications. In commercial aerospace, he said investors could pay attention to structural components such as propellant tanks, cabin sections and fairings, which require high-level manufacturing processes and large fixed-asset investment. In frontier technology, Liu cited photonic and quantum computing, superconducting materials, controlled nuclear fusion and brain-computer interfaces as areas worth watching.