China EU Photo:VCG

The first meeting of the China-EU Financial Working Group was held in Beijing on Monday and Tuesday. The working group aims to deepen exchanges and cooperation in the financial sector between China and the EU.

The meeting highlighted the EU's desire to maintain financial cooperation with China despite rising geopolitical tension, as well as China's determination for high-level opening-up, experts said.

The two sides discussed macroeconomic and financial stability, regulatory frameworks, market access for financial institutions, anti-money laundering cooperation, capital market building and cross-border data transmission, among other topics, according to the official WeChat account of the Peoples Bank of China (PBC), the central bank.

PBC Governor Pan Gongsheng and EU Ambassador to China Jorge Toledo attended meeting and delivered speeches.

The meeting was also attended by representatives from the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the European Central Bank, the European Banking Authority, the European Securities and Markets Authority, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, the Single Resolution Board and the EU Delegation to China.

Both sides agreed to continue following up on key issues before the second meeting, striving to achieve early results. They agreed that the working group can serve as an important channel for policy communication, solving practical issues and discussing global economic and financial issues.

A roundtable meeting for financial institutions was also held to gather suggestions and market access demands for further communication.

Dialogue and exchanges between China and Europe in the financial sector demonstrate a mutual commitment to cooperation and win-win outcomes, amid rising protectionism globally and geopolitical tensions, Yang Chengyu, an associate research fellow at the Institute of European Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

This dialogue highlights the great potential of future cooperation in the financial field between China and Europe, based on their complementary advantages, Yang said.

This partnership has the potential to drive global financial development, particularly in areas like sustainable finance, Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

For example, in the field of sustainable finance, Europe has rich experience and technology in green finance and carbon trading, while China has a huge green finance market and development potential. Both sides can work together to promote the global development of green finance, Wang said.

China and the EU conducted productive talks during the 10th High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue in September 2023 and agreed to set up a financial working group.

During the dialogue, both sides agreed to further promote financial opening-up and encourage financial institutions that meet the criteria to invest and expand their business in each other's markets. 

The two sides also agreed to strengthen cooperation in green finance and sustainable finance to boost economic transformation, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The meeting came as China and the EU are facing certain challenges in some aspects. The EU is conducting a probe into China-made electric vehicles (EVs) over alleged subsidies and is considering a formal review of how widely its businesses use mature or lower-end chips from China, joining the US in flagging so-called national security concern.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on March 13 that China's EVs are widely welcomed in the world not by using subsidies, but by working to enhance quality and lower costs. This has also contributed to the global green and low-carbon development.

We hope that the EU can earnestly abide by WTO rules, follow its commitment to keeping the market open, respect the rules of the market economy, respect the efforts by Chinese companies in making innovations, prudently use trade remedies and jointly uphold the overall economic and trade cooperation between China and the EU, Wang said.