China has chalked up a remarkable achievement in reforming its banking industry, said Vice Chairman Tang Chuangning of the China Banking Regulatory Commission in Beijing Sunday.

"The successful reform of China's state-owned commercial banks has greatly improved the international image of Chinese banks," he said at an annual meeting on Asian finance in the 21st century.

After the successful IPOs (initial public offering) of the Bank of Communications and China Construction Bank in 2005, the Bank of China and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China successfully listed on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets this year, he said.

The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the biggest company on China's A-share market, created the world's largest IPO, he said.

In previous decades, Chinese banks piled up a mountain of bad debts as a result of reckless, government-ordered lending to state-owned enterprises.

Almost all major Chinese banks have formulated plans to become joint-stock companies and seek market listing to help streamline operations.

In line with a WTO (World Trade Organization) commitment, China will fully open its financial markets to foreign competition by the end of this year.

"The joint-stock reforms have spurred Chinese banks to improve their corporate governance, risk management and internal controls, and their financial, debt and human resource management," Tang said.

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