Research on the modernization of China's anti-money laundering governance system: risk challenges, RegTech and future paths
School of Finance, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China.
Research Article
International Journal of Science and Technology Research Archive, 2026, 11(01), 007–014.
Article DOI: 10.53771/ijstra.2026.11.1.0028
Publication history:
Received on 17 June 2026; revised on 24 July 2026; accepted on 27 July 2026
Abstract:
Against the backdrop of the deep integration of economic globalization and financial digitalization, money laundering activities continue to penetrate emerging channels such as virtual currencies, cross-border payments and live-streaming tipping, leaving China's anti-money laundering (AML) efforts confronted with a complex landscape in which persistent traditional risks coexist with prominent new ones. This paper systematically examines the risk challenges currently facing AML work and the modernization path of governance driven by regulatory technology (RegTech). It reviews core technologies including big data, artificial intelligence, federated learning and blockchain, and, drawing on frontier cases such as the “Smart AML Laboratory” of the PBOC Shenzhen Central Sub-branch, WeBank's federated learning and XTransfer's foreign-trade finance large model, explains the internal mechanism by which RegTech drives AML from “post-event response” toward “pre-event warning and in-process intervention”. On this basis, the paper reviews the institutional breakthroughs of the revised Anti-Money Laundering Law—centered on the risk-based approach and effective in 2025—in expanding the scope of predicate offences and incorporating designated non-financial institutions as obligated entities, and proposes optimization recommendations across the three dimensions of regulators, financial institutions and international cooperation, with a view to informing the construction of a risk-based, technology-driven, coordinated and efficient AML governance system with Chinese characteristics.
Keywords:
Anti-Money Laundering; Regulatory Technology; Risk-Based Approach; Financial Security
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