How China’s banking sector powered the world’s most dramatic economic transformation.
“Red” Banks: The Contribution of Chinese Banks to the Economic Rise of China (1980-2020) opens the vault, revealing how policy banks, state-owned giants, and daring joint-stock institutions fueled China’s rise from 1980 to 2020. The book explores unpublished financial records and financed reforms to Belt and Road mega-projects. How did China’s banks sidestep the pitfalls of Western systems? What made their approach to infrastructure and manufacturing uniquely explosive? This study bridges gaps in global finance research, challenging conventional narratives and exposing the symbiotic relationship between state strategy and real economic growth.
Publication date: October 9, 2026
Contents
Foreword
List of Figures and Tables
Abbreviations
10 Introduction
1 Development of the Chinese Economics
2 The Roles of the Banks in China (1949–2020)
3 Background of the Book
4 Structure of the Book
Part 1: China under Mao
11 Stagflation in the West and China’s Economic Liberalisation
1 Introduction
2 The Development of Capitalism in the West Following World War II
3 The Economic Decline of Anglo-American Economies
4 Post-Bretton Woods System
5 The Neoliberal Economic Reform
6 Interaction between China and Western Economies
7 Conclusion
12 Socialist Banking in China, 1949–1997
1 Introduction
2 Overview of the Chinese Economy during Mao’s Period
3 Overview of the Chinese Financial and Banking System under Mao
4 Reformation of the Chinese Economy during Deng’s Period
5 Reforms of the Chinese Bank
6 The 1997 Financial Crisis in SE Asia
Part 2: The Banking Sector in China after the Market Reforms
13 New Central Bank Policy from 1980 to 2020
1 Introduction
2 Review of the Market Reform Development – Phase I (1980–1990)
3 Review of the Market Reform Development – Phase II (1991–2001)
4 Review of the Market Reform Development – Phase III (2002–2011)
5 Review of the Market Reform Development – Phase IV (2012–2020)
6 Conclusion
14 The Chinese Regulatory Framework and the Institutional Impact of the Basel Accords in China
1 Introduction
2 Overview of the Chinese Financial Regulatory Structure
3 The Primary Financial Regulators for the Banking Industry
4 The Basel Accords in China
5 Conclusion
15 Chinese Policy Banks
1 Introduction
2 Overview of the Chinese Policy Banks
3 China Development Bank (CDB)
4 Export-Import Bank (EXIM Bank)
5 Agricultural Development Bank of China (ADBC)
6 Support in Africa
7 Conclusion
16 The Investment Policy of Chinese State-Owned Commercial Banks
1 Introduction
2 Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)
3 China Construction Bank (CCB)
4 Bank of China (BOC)
5 Agricultural Bank of China (ABC)
6 Conclusion
17 The Investment Policy of Chinese Joint-Stock Commercial Banks and Foreign Banks
1 Introduction
2 Overview of the Chinese Joint-Stock Commercial Banks and Foreign Banks
3 Chinese Joint-Stock Commercial Banks
4 Foreign Banking Capital in China
5 Conclusion
18 Summary and Conclusion
1 Summary
2 Conclusion
Bibliography
Appendices
Index