Asian-European financial cooperation good for both sides

Financial cooperation between Asian and European countries will bring benefits for both continents and facilitate the improvements of a new global financial and economic landscape, says Zhou Wenzhong, secretary general of Bo'ao Forum for Asia.

"The current trend of globalization is providing tremendous opportunities for Asia and Europe's economies to integrate further with each other, and financial cooperation will be a key part of this integration," Zhou says.

Zhou was speaking on Tuesday at a press conference during the two-day Bo'ao Forum for Asia Financial Cooperation Conference in London. The forum is attended by about 400 political, business and academic opinion leaders from more than 20 countries and regions.

Zhou says that Europe's financial markets have tremendous competitiveness and Eastern Asian countries have abundant capital, so the two regional blocks can complement each other's strengths to together achieve more financial cooperation and economic growth through cooperation, as well as facilitate more connectivity between Asia and Europe.

In addition, Asia and Europe have the potential to cooperate more on global financial system and currency system transformation.

"Firstly, the two regions must support the global financial system's reform and the coordination and communication of macroeconomic policies between different countries, secondly they must work to strengthen the cooperation between financial institutions and capital markets.

"Thirdly, they must facilitate financial and funding cooperation to support the cooperation between multinational development banks such as the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank and the European Investment Bank, and finally they must strengthen cooperation in the international currency system and global financial governance," Zhou says.

Bo'ao Forum for Asia was founded in 2001, and over the years it has hosted many meetings attended by globally influential leaders from politics, business and academia. Zhou says that the forum would continue to facilitate discussions that drive towards further cooperation amongst Asian countries.

His team has also already established the agenda for the 2016 Annual Conference, to be held in Bo'ao, China in March, and is the largest forum that the organization hosts every year.

The key topics to be covered in the 2016 conference include Asia's economic cooperation, financial reform in Asian countries, the cooperation between the internet and traditional industries, innovation and entrepreneurship, and global economic and financial governance.

Zhou says that the topic of global financial governance is particularly important, especially as it will be a key topic at the G20 meeting next year, which China will host as president. The global currency system is undergoing significant transformation, and new multinational financial institutions are emerging to change the funding landscape, he says.

Zhou adds that new initiatives such as China's renminbi internationalization and the One Belt One Road initiative are acting as catalysts for international financial cooperation between China and Europe.

"The OBOR initiative is providing a connection between the very advanced Western European economies and the very lively Eastern Asian countries, and in between the initiative covers large geographical regions, so the cooperation potential is enormous and so is the demand for infrastructure."

"This initiative is a good opportunity for China and Europe to work together, because Europe has very advanced technology and industrial capability, and China has abundant capital, cost advantage, infrastructure construction experience and efficiency," Zhou says.

This cooperation between China and Europe will help China's industries to move up the value chain and also bring new efficient infrastructure to Europe, he says.

In addition, renminbi internationalization is providing great opportunities for European centres, such as London, as they increasingly include offshore renminbi activities into their transactions.

"The UK is already an offshore center for the US dollar and the Euro, so it obviously wants to become an offshore center for the renminbi, to strengthen its competitiveness. For China, London is a great platform to help renminbi achieve recognition, as it is the world's largest gold trading market and the world's main foreign exchange market," Zhou says.

To contact the reporter: cecily.liu@mail.chinadailyuk.com