The article outlines the role of state in the evolution of commercial banks in China. It looks at different stages of its development process. The paper engages with the deepening of state led financial reforms which led to the competitive advantage of China's commercial banking industry. The state-owned commercial banks, large joint-stock commercial banks, and small private commercial banks keep increasing their strengths due to regulations and monitoring by the Chinese state. Therefore, the article argues that state-owned commercial banks have relatively large market share and dominate in commercial banking sector due to the state.