The story
People's Bank of China
Central Huijin was established in 2003 by the People's Bank of China. It was created as a special purpose vehicle incorporated as a limited liability company. Its mission was to recapitalize China's banks. Researcher Zongyuan Zoe Liu writes that using a sovereign fund like Central Huijin gave "the CPC the maximum degree of flexibility to decide when it would leave the market to its own devices and when it would forcefully intervene to protect the state's interest." Between 2003 and 2006, Central Huijin functioned as a quasi-state-owned private equity fund.
In 2005, the State Council approved the Comprehensive Plan for the Consolidation of Brokerage Firms, with the goal of implementing new regulatory mechanisms and rooting out misconduct in the securities field. Central Huijin wholly owned subsidiary Jianyin Investment, along with the China Securities Investor Protection Fund, were tasked by the State Council with restructuring Chinese brokerages. During the period 2004–2007, Central Huijin and Jianyin Investment acquired controlling stakes in ten large Chinese brokerage firms, totaling at that time one-third of the Chinese securities industry. The brokerages recapitalized in 2005 included Galaxy Securities, China Southern Securities (which was subsequently liquidated), Shenyin & Wanguo Securities, and Guotai Junan Securities. This in turn gave Central Huijin's parent institution, the People's Bank of China, significant power in the securities industry despite not having formal legal oversight. Central Huijin's track record of restructuring financial institutions has largely been viewed as a success.
In 2007, the Ministry of Finance increased its degree of supervision over Central Huijin.
China Investment Corporation
In 2008, Central Huijin Investment was acquired from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange by the China Investment Corporation for roughly $67 billion. It manages more than two-thirds of CIC's assets. Central Huijin functions as the "shareholder in chief" of the entire financial sector, a role that allows the state to participate in the market consistent with global norms of corporate ownership structure without letting go of state oversight of strategic enterprises and sectors.
Central Huijin indirectly supports the Belt and Road Initiative through its support of domestic financial institutions, such as policy banks or state-owned commercial banks, which in turn fund BRI projects.
In December 2019, Central Huijin bailed out Hengfeng Bank.
In 2024, Central Huijin stated that it would increase its purchases of A-shares to bolster stock market stability. According to one estimate, it bought US$45.5 billion worth of stock in the first quarter of that year.
In March 2025, the controlling stakes of China Securities Finance Corp (CSFC) and three of China's bad-debt managers were transferred to Central Huijin from China Ministry of Finance, dramatically surging Central Huijin's asset size from 7.76 trillion yuan ($1.1 trillion) as of 2024, to at least 27 trillion yuan ($3.72 trillion).
From Wikipedia’s article on Central Huijin Investment, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3