The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is pleased to make this book on rural finance issues in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) available to policy makers, financial instuons, and praconers. The analysis contained in this volume grew out of ADB-financed technical assistance projects for rural and microfinance that focused on expanding sustainable financial services to the rural poor in underdeveloped areas. The book is a valuable contribuon toward a beer understanding of the issues in the PRC rural finance market, parcularly the reasons for recent reform measures and key market and instuonal changes. The book will hopefully promote further work and innovave approaches toward building a sound rural finance system that allows easy access for the underserved financial segments of market services. There are indeed opportunies for synergy between government and parcipants in the rural financial market to join forces for poverty reducon. The book highlights the need for a boom-up approach in rural financial market development to meet local demand and adapt to local financial risk profiles. It emphasizes that effecve supervision of rural financial market parcipants requires effecve communica- on between government and the market. The book also argues that opening the rural financial market allows innovave approaches and different types of instuons to compete, thereby ensuring beer services and higher efficiencies. The contribuons of authors, editors, and the staff of the Financial Sector, Public Management, and Regional Cooperaon Division as well as the Department of External Relaons were invaluable in producing this knowledge product and are acknowledged with gratude.