BEIJING -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao wrapped up the third national financial work conference on Saturday, unveiling a package of policies aimed at improving the country's financial health.

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In a keynote speech to the meeting, which is held every five years, Premier Wen Jiabao highlighted a number of problems facing China's financial industry, including an accelerating international trade imbalance, poor governance of financial corporations and a defective rural financial system.

Wen said that China's financial industry had witnessed historical changes since the last conference was held in 2002. "However, quite a number of problems and contradictions still exist. We must attach great importance to these illnesses and take forceful means to cure them," he said.

Wen stressed the adoption of the following policies:

-- Continue to deepen the reform of state-owned banks. The immediate task for the listed Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Bank of China, the China Construction Bank and the Bank of Communications is to optimize corporate governance and push forward grass-roots reforms in local branches.

-- The shareholding reform of the Agricultural Bank of China must be carried out in a steady manner and in a way that will serve the financial demands of rural China.

-- The China Development Bank, one of China's three policy banks which also include the Export and Import Bank of China and the Agricultural Development Bank of China, will take the lead in commencing commercial operations that will mainly focus on mid-term and long-term business.

-- Public bidding will be introduced into financial business previously commissioned by the government to policy banks.

-- Facilitate rural financial reforms, moderately reduce the access threshold for financial institutions into the rural market, encourage and support the establishment of diversified rural credit organizations including those engaged in small loans and push forward agricultural insurance.

-- Facilitate the reform of the insurance industry, improve the quality of listed firms and speed up the growth of the bond market by expanding the size of corporate bonds.

-- Provide more financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises, self-innovation projects, public causes and the less developed regions.

-- Steadily push forward the foreign exchange rates reform, actively explore and expand the use of foreign exchange reserves.

-- Facilitate the fair competition between domestic and foreign financial institutions and advance financial collaboration between the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao.

-- Optimize management of the insurance, banking and securities industries, tighten the control of cross-border short-term capital flow, speculative funds in particular, and enhance the supervision of money laundering activities.