Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province has officially been designated a national cultural and financial cooperation demonstration zone, according to an announcement made on Dec 21 by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the People's Bank of China, and the Ministry of Finance.

This prestigious designation has only been granted to two places in China, with the other being Beijing's Dongcheng district.

The concept of deepening cultural and financial cooperation was first proposed by China in 2014, and Ningbo and Dongcheng district were chosen as pioneers to test the initiative. In 2019, both locations were shortlisted to become national cultural and financial cooperation demonstration zones.

By the end of October, Ningbo had successfully established 14 financial institutions dedicated to the culture sector. Notably, the city has taken the lead nationwide in creating a credit risk compensation fund specifically for the cultural segment. The fund provides unsecured loans to cultural enterprises without requiring collateral, thereby reducing their financial burden through subsidized interest rates.

Additionally, the local government has implemented a protection mechanism to support major financial innovations in the cultural and tourism sectors. Financial products and services recognized as significant innovations by supervisory authorities within the demonstration zone are eligible for financial support and exclusive operating qualifications within Ningbo for a period of one to three years.

Meanwhile, Ningbo has been at the forefront of introducing innovative insurance products tailored for the cultural and tourism sectors. The city's all-in-one tourism insurance, the first of its kind in the country, has enhanced risk management capabilities within the tourism industry while providing effective risk protection for visitors to Ningbo.