BEIJING — China has made continued efforts to forestall and defuse financial risks while supporting steady economic recovery, said the country's top banking regulator on March 2.

In 2021, with threats in salient areas controlled, the macro leverage ratio decreased by about 8 percent, Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, told a press conference.

Asset expansion in the financial system, back at a comparatively low level, has reentered the single-digit range, said Guo.

From 2017 to 2021, risky shadow banks were dismantled by 25 trillion yuan (about $3.95 trillion), of which 11.5 trillion yuan was cut in the past two years.

According to Guo, China's banking sector handled about 12 trillion yuan in non-performing assets during the five years, with more than 6 trillion yuan handled in the past two years.

Local governments have reported improved hidden debt situations, with bubble signs and highly leveraged financing trends in the real estate sector fundamentally reversed, Guo stressed, adding that "China's resilience against external risks has further improved."

According to Guo, efforts have also met the reasonable and effective financing needs of the real economy and boosted the steady recovery and virtuous cycle of the economy.

With nearly 20 trillion yuan of new yuan loans in 2021, newly-added bond investments by banking and insurance institutions totaled 7.7 trillion yuan.

Meanwhile, the balance of medium- and long-term loans to the manufacturing sector increased by nearly 30 percent year on year, research and technology loans by 28.9 percent, and green credit by 21 percent, Guo added.