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China’s too-big-to-fail banking rules are heading in the right direction.

Chinese regulators published new guidelines on Tuesday for supervising the nation’s financial institutions. Of course, Beijing owns most big lenders, and failures are almost unheard-of. But the very act of indicating which ones should be saved in a disaster means that others may be allowed to fail: That’s a step toward liberalizing a nearly $40 trillion banking industry.

The latest framework will label several more Chinese banks, securities firms and insurers as “systemically important,” meaning that they are so vital and connected that the collapse of just one could trigger a crisis. (The Financial Stability Board, an international regulatory body, already deems Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and some others as critical on a global level.) The blueprint unveiled this week will subject organizations in the enlarged group to tougher rules on capital requirements, leverage and so on. During a crisis, they may qualify for a bailout in exchange for meeting those requirements.

At first blush, the rules seem to be an odd fit. The point is to identify the most important institutions, toughen scrutiny and so reduce the likelihood of failure, or speed up a wind-down if they do trip up. It was a solution primarily introduced to address the concerns of Western governments after the global financial crisis, when many were forced into expensive and unpopular bailouts of private sector firms.