BEIJING, Dec. 3 -- China is confident, well-positioned and capable of coping with various financial risks and challenges, thanks to its sound long-term fundamentals providing a solid foundation, noted Li Yunze, head of the National Financial Regulatory Administration.

The strong resilience, huge potential, robust vitality and sound fundamentals of the country's economy remain unchanged, providing the greatest confidence, guarantee and backstop for preventing and defusing financial risks, Li told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

China's financial sector has functioned smoothly and demonstrated an overall strong resilience against risks, Li said.

According to official data, the non-performing loan ratio of commercial banks stood at 1.61 percent by the end of the third quarter, while their provision coverage ratio, a measure of backstop against financial risks, came in at 207.89 percent, both within the reasonable range.

In the next step, efforts will focus on facilitating the reform and progress in de-risking for medium-sized and small financial institutions, according to Li.

In this regard, Li highlighted the importance of formulating targeted and precise measures such as making province-specific or bank-specific risk disposal plans.

Efforts are also needed to push forward structure optimization of the medium-sized and small banking institutions, as well as to guide asset management and non-banking institutions to stay in their lane and develop differentially, Li noted.