(Yicai) Feb. 20 -- The newly-appointed chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission engaged in intensive exchanges with representatives of various industries to solicit suggestions to promote the high-quality development of the capital market.

Wu Qing met with experts, scholars, small- and medium-sized investors, listed companies, securities fund managers, accounting and law firms, private equity institutions, foreign institutions, and others after the Chinese New Year holiday, which ended on Feb. 18, Yicai learned.

At the meetings, the representatives suggested China should strengthen its initial public offering access regulation, enhance comprehensive supervision of listed companies and institutional fairness, increase return on investment, standardize trading activities, promote more medium-to-long-term capital inflows, and deepen capital market reforms.

Moreover, they said China should tighten its law enforcement efforts against securities violations and criminal activities to safeguard the rights and interests of investors, in particular small- and medium-sized investors.

The CSRC said after those meetings that it would take all opinions seriously into account and promptly respond to market concerns.

Yicai learned that the CSRC is already focusing on enhancing IPO admission standards to improve the quality of listed companies. The regulator, stock exchanges, and related agencies will strengthen supervision over IPO processes, ensuring that issuers and intermediary agencies bear their respective responsibilities.

Therefore, it is very likely that the supervisory inspections on companies in the process of listing, financial frauds, and non-compliant listed firms will further intensify.

The State Council, the country’s cabinet, took the decision to appoint Wu as the 10th chairman and party secretary of the CSRC, Xinhua News Agency reported on Feb. 7, two days before the start of the eight-day Chinese New Year holiday.

Wu, 58, chaired the Shanghai Stock Exchange from May 2016 to December 2017. Previously at the CSRC, he led its departments for institutional supervision, risk disposal for securities companies, and fund supervision. Wu was also the deputy party secretary and executive vice mayor of Shanghai.

Wu, who has a doctorate in economics, was the editor-in-chief, along with Ma Qingquan, of the first and second volumes of the History of Chinese Securities, which recorded the major events in China’s securities market from 1978 to 2007.

Editor: Futura Costaglione