BEIJING — China will further improve inclusive financial services as part of efforts to bolster financial development, an official said on Oct 21.

Some 99 percent of the Chinese population has access to basic financial services, with banking networks covering 96.6 percent of towns, Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, said at the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2020, which runs from Oct 21 to Oct 23 in Beijing.

However, much work remains to be done to achieve inclusive financing, Guo said, citing the contradiction between insufficient supply and mounting demand in the country's financial sector.

Efforts should be made to advance the supply-side structural reform of the financial sector, Guo said, urging all financial institutions to step up digital transformation to improve the ability to serve the public.

Guo added that China will firmly advance the opening-up of the financial service sector, with measures to improve the financial market system and deepen international economic and financial cooperation.