On January 15, 2026, the State Council Information Office held a press conference on the effectiveness of monetary and financial policies in supporting high-quality development of the real economy. At the conference, Zou Lan, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China, announced a significant policy adjustment: a reduction of 0.25 percentage points in the interest rates of various structural monetary policy tools. The one-year interest rate for various relending facilities will be lowered from the current 1.5% to 1.25%, with corresponding adjustments for other maturity brackets. Zou Lan stated that this policy adjustment is an important measure introduced in response to the current economic and financial situation, with the core objective of improving the structural monetary policy tool system, enhancing support, guiding financial institutions to increase credit allocation to key sectors, and thereby precisely facilitating the transformation and optimization of the economic structure.

It is understood that this interest rate reduction covers a comprehensive range of structural tools, including relending facilities for agriculture and small businesses, relending for technological innovation, and carbon emission reduction support tools. Industry analysis indicates that the reduction in interest rates for structural monetary policy tools will directly lower the cost of funds for banks, incentivizing financial institutions to allocate more credit resources to vulnerable sectors and key areas such as small and micro enterprises, agriculture, rural areas, farmers, technological innovation, and green development. This move is expected to effectively alleviate financing difficulties and high financing costs in these sectors.

Notably, this interest rate adjustment marks the first major monetary policy move by the central bank in 2026, forming a synergistic effect with eight other financial support measures announced during the press conference. Concurrently announced policies include an increase of 500 billion yuan in the quota for relending to support agriculture and small businesses, the establishment of a dedicated 1 trillion yuan relending facility for private enterprises, and an expansion of the quota for relending to support technological innovation and technological transformation to 1.2 trillion yuan. These measures aim to strengthen financial support for the real economy across multiple dimensions.

Zou Lan also revealed that there remains room for further reductions in reserve requirement ratios and interest rates in 2026. The central bank will continue to enhance counter-cyclical and cross-cyclical adjustments, flexibly utilize various monetary policy tools to maintain ample liquidity, and coordinate with fiscal policies to amplify policy effectiveness. These efforts will provide solid financial support for a strong start to the 15th Five-Year Plan period.