This article examines the Chinese financial system as an institutional arrangement in which finance operates in alignment with industrial productivity. Drawing on the theoretical foundations of Friedrich List and Gustav Schmoller, the study revisits the German Historical School to interpret contemporary financial development in China. While China hosts one of the largest capital market systems in the world, the article argues that the defining feature of its financial architecture lies in the structural role of the banking sector. Large-scale credit allocation toward manufacturing, infrastructure, and strategic industries suggests that financial institutions function as instruments of long-term capability accumulation and technological upgrading. The findings challenge the assumption that financial liberalization and autonomous capital markets are necessary conditions for industrial growth. Instead, the Chinese case illustrates how finance, when embedded within coordinated institutional structures, can serve as a complementary mechanism supporting productive development.