The Chinese government has announced plans to set up a new national financial regulator and abolish its current banking and insurance watchdog, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC). The setting up of an enlarged national financial regulatory authority aims to strengthen the Communist Party’s leadership in its USD60tr financial system and keep risks in check, according to reports. When in place, the new financial regulator will strengthen institutional supervision, supervision of behaviours and supervision of functions. The announcement follows a call for reforms for party and state institutions in China from the country’s president Xi Jinping. These reforms will also include a bureau for sharing and developing data resources, which will partly replace the duties of the current Office of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission.