Cornerstone support for intl cooperation

Focus of Financial Street conference promoting trust and confidence

This year's Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum concluded on Sunday in Beijing with participants from around the world reaching a consensus on advancing global financial collaboration.

Themed "Trust and Confidence — Work Together to Promote Financial Openness and Cooperate for Shared Economic Stability and Growth", the three-day forum that started on Friday featured more than 500 heavyweight attendees from more than 30 countries and regions, including government officials.

"Trust is the cornerstone of international cooperation, and confidence is the support for economic development," said Liu Dongwei, executive secretary-general of the forum's organizing committee and head of Beijing's Xicheng district.

"The theme has reflected the deep consensus among the forum's organizers, financial institutions and industry insiders, highlighting the development concepts of co-consultation, co-construction, co-governance and co-sharing.

"It has also showcased the inclusiveness of the Financial Street Forum, and the demonstration and leadership roles it plays," he added.

This year's forum demonstrated its international reach by setting up three subvenues in Hong Kong, Luxembourg and Tokyo. These subvenues provided opportunities for local governments and businesses to participate in the event and exchange their views. And, for the first time, the forum invited the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council to host thematic activities in Beijing.

Revolving around the current trending economic and financial topics, the forum held a series of thematic activities focusing on improving the modern central banking system, deepening capital market reforms, empowering industries through finance to lead high-quality development, and enhancing mutually beneficial international trade and investment cooperation. Moreover, the event also provided authoritative interpretations of international and domestic economic development trends and financial regulatory policies.

Notably, the first investment and financing matchup event during the forum was well received among small and medium-sized scientific and technological enterprises as well as financial institutions. Aiming to promote the deep integration of industry and capital, the matchmaking event comprised roadshows, one-on-one industrial and financial meetings and online exhibition areas, attracting more than 60 small and medium-sized enterprises and 100-plus investment institutions, resulting in over 300 instances of practical communication and connection.

Additionally, a series of accomplishments were announced at the forum. For instance, the Financial Street Development Report 2024 was released analyzing the development and achievements of Financial Street over the past year.

According to the report, Financial Street achieved a financial industry added value of 322.75 billion yuan ($45.45 billion) in 2023, representing a 6.8 percent increase from the previous year. By the end of 2023, its financial institution asset scale reached 15.12 trillion yuan, representing a year-on-year increase of 10.2 percent, accounting for about one-third of the country's total.

Moreover, the Beijing Financial Street Institute cooperated with the national fintech risk monitoring center and relevant parties to launch the Financial Big Data AI Joint Lab, aiming to accelerate new technology applications in the financial industry, become a significant research institution in the financial big data and artificial intelligence field, and establish a financial technology innovation platform to provide comprehensive technology support.

"Finance is the lifeline of the national economy and the core of a modern economy," Yin Li, secretary of the Communist Party of China Beijing Municipal Committee, said at the forum.

"Beijing is an important destination for international finance and investment. Looking to the future, Beijing will accelerate the construction of a dynamic modern financial system and comprehensively improve the level of services for national financial management," Yin said.

He called for improving the financial service facilities system to support the construction of nationally important financial platforms and the layout of international financial institutions in Beijing; to create a favorable financial market system for innovation by fostering first-class investment institutions and developing patient capital; developing a vibrant financial ecosystem to strengthen international financial exchanges and cooperation; and maintaining a financially secure and stable environment to safeguard the bottom line of financial safety.

Initiated in 2012, the Financial Street Forum serves as an important platform for the country's open development. It has held 12 consecutive sessions and is acclaimed as a weather vane for China's financial reform and development.

The forum plays the roles of a national-level platform for authoritative policy dissemination, an interaction platform for finance and the real economy, a platform for China to participate in global financial governance and voice out and a platform for international financial exchange and cooperation.