Financial opening-up seen boosting trade, business, investment, high-quality development

China will continue to expand high-level opening-up and further accelerate the opening up of its financial sector, said officials and executives at the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2022 on Monday.

The country will foster a market-oriented and world-class business environment governed by a sound legal framework, said Peng Chun, chairman and chief executive officer of China Investment Corp.

The new development pattern that China is proactively building emphasizes the dual circulation strategy that combines the expansion of the domestic economy with solid support to global supply chains. China will promote international market circulation and continuously enhance support to ensure the resilience of global supply and industrial chains, Peng said.

He said that international investment has effectively boosted international trade and exchange, as well as promoted global interconnectivity and the integration of global industrial and supply chains.

China Investment Corp will join hands with other market players to explore innovative cooperation methods of cross-border investment, promote international industrial cooperation, and contribute to high-quality and sustainable global economic development, he said.

Lu Lei, deputy administrator of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said China's international industrial and investment cooperation has realized high-quality development and entered a new phase of high-level opening-up since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

In 2021, China's foreign direct investment increased by nearly 50 percent from the level in 2012. In particular, FDI in high-tech services recorded relatively fast growth. Over the same period, China's outbound investment doubled, making great contributions to the promotion of trade and investment interconnectedness, infrastructure construction and industrial development in related countries and regions, Lu said.

Looking ahead, the environmental, social and governance investment strategy will enable the long-term pattern of global investment, which means that digitalization, energy transition and healthcare will become major fields of investment, he said.

Liu Jin, president of Bank of China, said financial institutions must improve the efficiency of global financial resource allocation and promote the innovation of investment and high-quality development of the real economy.

China is accelerating the further opening up of its financial sector, Liu said.

The Chinese financial sector has entered a new phase of high-level opening-up. Ever since the 19th CPC National Congress, total assets of foreign banks in China have increased by nearly 30 percent while total assets of foreign insurance companies in the country have risen by about 120 percent, said Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

China will continue to welcome quality foreign financial institutions, which are running steadily and have prominent features, to participate in its market, share growth opportunities, and create a brilliant future together in terms of the Chinese economy and finance, Guo said.

Officials, executives and experts attended the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2022, which kicked off in Beijing on Monday. The three-day event is themed "forge ahead toward a shared future — economic development and financial cooperation amid changes".