Well-functioning rural financial infrastructure is essential to China's bid to build a new countryside. Any progress in expediting development of financial institutions in rural areas is, therefore, more than needed.

The suggestion by the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) that small rural lenders may be allowed to accept deposits comes as a much needed shot in the arm for the country's rural financial reform.

Poor rural finance used to be not only a result but also a cause for the underdevelopment of China's rural areas.