A panel discussion on Belt and Road financial cooperation and digital economy development at the Annual Conference of the Financial Street Forum 2024 in Beijing on October 19, 2024. Photo: Yin Yeping/GT

The China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is in a healthy stage of financial cooperation development, with good potential for improvement and expansion, officials said during the three-day Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2024, which was held in Beijing from Friday to Sunday.

Speaking at a panel discussion regarding the financial cooperation of the BRI, Zhou Liang, vice minister of the National Financial Regulatory Administration, said that Belt and Road financial cooperation is in a healthy stage of development.

Zhou mentioned that the industrial and supply chains are constantly being optimized and upgraded for the participating countries, which is inseparable from financial support. This also puts forward higher requirements for the quality and efficiency of financial cooperation in the future.

With the deepening of international cooperation for production capacity under the BRI, the National Development and Reform Commission encourages financial institutions to develop cross-border businesses such as supply chain finance, syndicated loans, and cross-border mergers and acquisitions to ensure the stability and smooth operation of industrial and supply chains, Zhou said.

Zhou also stated that China encourages domestic financial institutions to optimize their presence in countries participating in the joint construction of the BRI and to strengthen financial services there.

As of late 2023, under the BRI, China has signed more than 200 documents on cooperation with over 150 countries and in excess of 30 international organizations. The trade value between China and other participating countries has recorded significant growth over the years, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Financial cooperation has played an important role in this expansion.

Speaking at the forum, Zhang Ming, a deputy head of the Department of Regional Openness of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that financial connectivity is vital to the joint construction of the BRI, providing a solid foundation for its steady and long-term development.

China has actively engaged in various forms of financial cooperation with participating countries, Zhang said.

Looking ahead, Zhang mentioned that government authorities will implement a series of actions for high-quality construction of the BRI in a solid and detailed manner, ensuring the effective execution of key tasks, such as a financing window of 700 billion yuan and an additional 80 billion yuan for the Silk Road Fund.