The Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2021 took place on October 20, 2021. CIC co-hosted a parallel forum themed “Two-Way Opening-Up and Financial Cooperation”.

Mr. Peng Chun, Chairman and CEO of CIC, delivered the opening remarks. Development is the key to resolving global issues, and prosperity can only be achieved through international collaboration given the profound integration of global industrial chains and value chains. China is building a new development model underpinned by a vast market and a sound industrial-support system, so as to facilitate external circulation and inject more vigor into global economic recovery. As China’s sovereign wealth fund that invests globally, CIC remains committed to operating on international, market-driven and professional basis. We are actively developing new modalities for outbound investment to help smoothen the international circulation, building ecosystems for cross-border investment cooperation to advance international industrial cooperation, and contributing to steady global economic growth via responsible investing.

During the key-note speech session, guests shared their observations on topics such as “challenges and opportunities for global financial cooperation”, “how to better promote sustainable recovery of the world economy via finance”, and “ESG investing philosophies and long-termism of institutional investors”.

Speakers at this session were mainly political figures and senior executives of financial institutions, including：

l  H.E. Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Former Prime Minister of France;

l  H.E. Gerhard Schröder, Former Chancellor of Germany;

l  Lord James Sassoon, Honorary President of the China-Britain Business Council;

l  Mr. Ren Hongbin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce of the PRC;

l  Ms. Hu Xiaolian, Chairman of The Export-Import Bank of China;

l  Mr. Liu Jin, Vice Chairman and President of Bank of China；

l  Senior official from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange;

l  Mr. John E. Waldron, President and Chief Operating Officer of Goldman Sachs.

According to their remarks, financial cooperation is key to the integration of supply chains and industrial chains in the post-pandemic era. China is strengthening opening up and improving its business environment on an ongoing basis, creating more opportunities for foreign investors. Major countries should work together to advance two-way opening up of the financial market, in a bid to build a global economic circulation that is more closely intertwined and stable, and enhance sustainable recovery of the global economy.

During the roundtable, guests had heated discussions on topics such as “new modalities for cross-border investment cooperation in the post-pandemic era”, “new bilateral funds and their cooperation models”, and “how new bilateral funds help facilitate international industrial cooperation”. Speakers at this session included:

l  Senior executives of Goldman Sachs, Eurazeo, Charterhouse Capital Partners, Investindustrial, Nomura Securities, Triton, and DORC Dutch Ophthalmic Research Center;

l  Mr. Peng Xuehai, Chief Economist of Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology;

l  Mr. Huang Zhaohui, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Management Committee of China International Capital Corporation Limited;

l  Mr. Shi Lei, Chairman of Chengdu Industry Investment Corporation Limited.

In recent years, CIC initiated a range of bilateral funds with top-notch financial institutions in pertinent countries, including the China-US Industrial Cooperation Fund, France-China Cooperation Fund, UK-China Cooperation Fund, Japan-China Industrial Cooperation Fund, and China-Italy Industrial Cooperation Fund. The bilateral funds have played an active part in deepening economic ties and industrial cooperation. Speakers at this session observed that faced with more complexities in cross-border investment and international industrial cooperation, CIC’s bilateral fund can yield win-win outcomes by galvanizing resources to create value for investees and facilitating bilateral industrial cooperation with a focus on industries of complementarity.  It is a good new way for outbound investment.

The parallel forum was chaired by Mr. Qi Bin, Executive Vice President and Deputy Chief Investment Officer of CIC. It was attended by Mr. Lin Fusheng, Vice Chairman of CPPCC Beijing Committee, and representatives of government agencies and top investment institutions in the world.

The Financial Street Forum 2021 was held both physically and virtually, and was co-hosted by Beijing Municipal Government, People’s Bank of China, Xinhua News Agency, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, and State Administration of Foreign Exchange.