The significance of China's development reaches far beyond the country's domestic concerns. This is due to a variety of factors, among them the country's rapid growth and development and its increasingly open borders, allowing it to become a member of the regional and international community of states over the last twenty-five years. China is not a major force yet, but its voice is gaining influence. Simultaneously, its development on domestic, regional, and international levels is a huge uncertainty which inheres both potential and risk and is likely best described by the title of Johnny Erling's book China - der grosse Sprung ins Ungewisse^ (China - the Great Leap into the Unknown). Thereby, the attempts to understand the relevant processes and related prospects often appear to be an endless puzzle which allows for fiirther insight with every piece that can be added, while a certain dimension of mystery remains as China develops ftirther. Today, China's development is challenged considerably by a number of factors in the fields of the society, policy, economy, and environment. Finding a viable solution to these challenges and sustaining development is a concern of great priority to the Chinese government. A decisive question with this in mind is how the financial system could be enhanced to a level at which it would be an effective catalyst for development.