Chinese internet finance companies have seen exponential growth over the past five years, and now provide a growing range of financial services.

E-finance holds great promise for improving financial inclusion and may help accelerate the process of interest rate liberalization. Government policies are largely supportive.

However, concerns remain about consumer protection, the regulatory environment and the long-term viability of internet finance firms' business models.

Further development of the internet finance sector is likely to be accompanied by substantial gains in innovation and productivity, and could help China rebalance its economy toward a more consumption-based growth model.