At present, the world economic recovery is weak, the global inflation level is still high, and the monetary tightening spillover effect of major economies is prominent in the complex and severe external environment, China's economic growth rate remains leading among major economies, and the World Bank's GDP growth rate is 5 this year1%, but the economy still faces some risks and challenges.
In this context, on December 1, the "2023 Global Trend Conference" hosted by Huanqiu.com opened at the Silk Road International Art Exchange Center in Langfang, Hebei Province. Richard Scholtz, Managing Director of Asia Pacific, EMEA at Global Finance Magazine, delivered a keynote speech on China's financial development and innovation from an international perspective.
Despite the challenges, China's innovation continues to shine and continues to drive economic growth and attract investment. From electric vehicles to robotics, from biotechnology to wind energy utilization, China is a global leader in many areas dominated by technological innovation. Richard said.
Talking about the current state of China's financial industry, Richard believes that China's financial industry is influencing financial innovation around the world. According to the U.S.-based Global Finance magazine, the 2023 China Star Awards include many of the best Chinese banks and finance companies in the field of innovation, covering a variety of financial sectors such as private banking, wealth management, consumer lending, and fintech.
In the field of first-chain finance, after the baptism of the epidemic, countries around the world have realized the importance of first-chain and urged Chinese banks to seek new financing methods for first-chain activities. Taking China Merchants Bank as an example, it has set up a special area for first-chain financing and developed a first-chain procurement and payment service to provide first-chain financing services for enterprise group customers. Now, customers can enjoy automatic repayment and interest refund at any time. China Merchants Bank has also launched a financing program for manufacturers, allowing customers to settle within six months. Customers can also connect to commercial clearing houses on the new Chain platform to provide cloud authentication services.
In the field of fintech, China's banking industry has made full use of big data management technology to unleash the value creation potential of fintech. ICBC has become the first bank in China to shift from "data decomposition" to "data capitalization". The bank relies on a large-scale data management system to improve the quality and efficiency of financial services and business operations.
Richard added that Chinese financial institutions are already leading the world in using digital technologies to provide cost-effective payment solutions. They work with special service providers to provide global payment channels such as Visa, Apple Pay and MasterCard, as well as payment channels developed specifically for Chinese mainland customers such as Alipay and WeChat Pay. These service providers, such as Hong Kong-based AsiaPay, offer multi-currency, multi-language, multi-channel, and multi-card services. Whether it's a transaction**, a physical card transaction, or a mobile checkout, they meet customer needs and employ advanced fraud detection technology.
China's financial innovation is striving to serve a wider consumer base. The digital economy has become the main growth driver of the world economy, and the digital economy is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people in China.
As an example, Richard said the Postal Savings Bank of China has strengthened its consumer lending and investment research capabilities, including upgrading the bank's nearly 40,000 outlets to create an investor education center. It also focuses on being data-driven, facilitating engagement between wholesale and retail customers and accelerating the transformation to retail banking.
Financial innovation has also had a significant impact on private banking and wealth management. For example, Richard said that Ping An Bank's private banking division has accelerated its transformation and has now fully applied advanced technology to all businesses, built an all-online platform for family trust services, and established China's first AI-based private equity system.
China's financial innovation has also incorporated green elements, and the Bank of China has adjusted its lending methods to support sustainable investments that are green and carbon neutral. China has set carbon neutrality as a national goal, and as such, the Bank of China explicitly prohibits credit and investment support to clients and projects that do not meet specific environmental standards, destroy habitats, are involved in illegal fishing, or contribute to deforestation.
In terms of continuous innovation, Zheshang Bank has created digital "employees" with human abilities such as speaking and writing for its asset management and risk control businesses. These automated capabilities can perform tasks ranging from regulatory reporting to risk warnings around the clock. In addition, Zheshang Bank also supports farmers through blockchain solutions to promote rural revitalization.
It can be said that China's innovative projects, programs and practices are numerous. The results we present today are just the tip of the iceberg of China's financial innovation efforts. As mentioned earlier, the rapid development and innovation of China's financial sector is attracting the world's attention.
Richard mentioned that in the near future, we have the potential to see more Chinese-style chain financing, digital banking, and sustainable credit practices in other parts of the world. Not only do a large number of manufactured goods and consumer goods come from China, but various financial innovations are also branded as "Made in China". 