BEIJING - Focus will be given to detecting and guarding against financial risk in key areas this year to prevent systemic financial risk, a senior official of China's top banking sector watchdog said Tuesday.

Priority must be given to preventing financial risk in areas such as non-performing loans, with more efforts on screening for potential risk, Shang Fulin, chairman of China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), said at an industrial meeting.

Attention must be given to preventing liquidity risk and improving banking institutions' emergency management capabilities, Shang said.

Risk emerging from internet-based finance businesses should be tackled in a serious manner, and financial supervision rules must be improved with strengthened supervision this year, he stressed.

The Central Economic Work Conference last month pledged to put more emphasis on curbing financial risk in 2017. While struggling to stabilize economic growth, Chinese authorities are increasingly taking note of financial risk associated with excess leverage and asset price swings.

China's banking institutions recorded 226.3 trillion yuan ($32.7 trillion) in total assets by December 2016, up 15.8 percent year-on-year, while their net profits rose 4 percent year-on-year to 2 trillion yuan over the same period, according to CBRC's initial figures.