Finance in Rural China

This book offers insights into the scholarly debates on formal and informal finance in rural China and fills a gap in the existing literature.

The book provides an overview of the overall development of rural finance in China and explains the necessity of embarking on the pathway toward rural financial pluralization through the "Local Knowledge Paradigm". The authors also analyze formal and informal financial development and inclusive finance (including digital inclusive finance) in rural China in various dimensions.

This book aids the understanding of the structure of the rural financial system and the operations of rural financial service providers in China. It will be a useful reference for those researching and interested in rural economy and rural finance.

Xingyuan Feng is Research Fellow of the Rural Development Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Deputy Secretary-General of the Center of Small and Medium Scale Banking Institutions of CASS, and Professor at the University of CASS. He received his PhD in economics from the University of Witten/Herdecke, Germany. Xingyuan’s main research fields include the Australian School of Economics, Freiburg School, Public Choice, constitutional economics, new institutional economics, evolutionary economics, private sector development, government finance, banking and finance, SME finance, rural finance, as well as local and rural governance.

Guangwen He is Professor of the Department of Finance and Director of the Center for Rural Finance & Microfinance Research at China Agricultural University. He focuses on rural finance, cooperative finance, microfinance & inclusive finance, financial demand & supply of farm households & MSEs and institutional & business innovation of small & medium financial institutions. Guangwen has been very active in field surveys. He was Visiting Professor at Duisburg University, Germany and Visiting Researcher at Norinchukin Bank Research Institute, Japan. He has also provided his expertise in microfinance and rural finance projects of the World Bank, ADB, IFAD, KFW etc., in China.

Tongquan Sun is Research Fellow and Director of the Rural Finance Research Office of the Rural Development Institute (RDI) of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Professor at the University of CASS and Secretary General of the Rural Development Society of China. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in economics and law, respectively, and PhD from the Post-graduate School of CASS in Management. He was a visiting scholar at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy in the USA. He is a recipient of the Prize for Rural Development Research in China. He has provided consultancies to the government of China, some international development organizations, such as the World Bank, UNDP, IFAD, ILO, United Nations Resident Coordinator’s Office in China and international and national NGOs. His main research interests are microfinance, financial inclusion, rural financial cooperatives, credit guarantee and poverty reduction, etc.

Christer Ljungwall is an economist specializing in international trade, knowledge production and innovation. He is Associate Professor in economics at Gothenburg University, Sweden. He has held several positions over the years, including guest Professor at PKU-HSBC Business School in China; Science Counselor at the Embassy of Sweden in China; Associate Professor at Copenhagen Business School, Denmark; Sr. Economist with the Asian Development Bank; and Research-fellow at Peking University, China. He is the author of numerous academic articles in economics, four books, and more than one hundred reports. His current research work focuses on international trade, knowledge production and innovation and geoeconomics. He is an advisor to governments and businesses and a frequently invited speaker on issues pertaining to Asian economic development and innovation. Dr. Ljungwall received his PhD in economics from Gothenburg University in 2003.