On April 24, 2021, China Finance 40 Forum (CF40) held the 13th Annual Conference, themed “A New Stage of Development: Beginning and Beyond”, in Beijing. The event attracted nearly 400 participants, including senior policymakers, prestigious scholars and leading practitioners from China’s economic and financial community.
The Conference commenced with an opening remark by Chen Yuan, Chairman of CF40 Executive Council and Vice Chairman of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC). Chen pointed out that with unbalanced economic recovery across countries, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global political, economic and financial landscapes has yet to fully unfold, placing China in an environment full of uncertainties and challenges as it enters the 14th Five-Year Plan period. “At this special time, it’s of great significance that we gather today to examine the start of a new stage for the Chinese economy and explore its outlook,” he noted.
The year of 2021 initiates the 14th Five-Year Plan period; it also marks the beginning of the drive to foster the new development pattern of dual circulation. The first half of the annual conference featured a symposium on China’s current economic and financial landscape and key issues going forward. What are the challenges and opportunities facing the country? How to press ahead with reforms and boost domestic demand to support the new development pattern? What new issues should the financial sector address to help fuel economic development in the new phase? Cai Fang, Member of CF40 Academic Committee and Chief Expert of National Think Tank at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Xiao Yuanqi, CF40 Advisor and Vice Chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), Lu Lei, CF40 Member and Deputy Director-General of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), and Liao Min, Member of CF40 Academic Committee and Deputy Director of the Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission each delivered a keynote speech on these topical issues which was followed by a roundtable discussion. The symposium was moderated by Wang Haiming, CF40 Secretary-General.
The rest of the day consisted of a luncheon and two parallel sessions. The luncheon revolved around the fiscal stimulus program of the United States and China’s coping strategies. How will Biden administration’s fiscal packages affect the global economy and, in turn, the exchange rate of Renminbi, cross-border capital flow and China’s financial stability, among others? How should China cope with related risks and challenges and improve its overseas asset allocation? Keynote speakers leading the discussion were Yu Yongding, Chairman of Pu Shan Foundation and Academician at CASS, and Zhu Jun, Member of CF40 Academic Committee and Director-General of the International Department at the People’s Bank of China (PBC).
Parallel session I in the afternoon focused on “Macroeconomic Policy Choice and Risk Response in the Post-Pandemic Era”. The year 2021 will be critical for economic recovery from COVID-19. How is the Chinese economy recovering from the pandemic’s blow? How to better coordinate monetary and fiscal policies to avoid any U-turns? What economic and financial risks merit special attention in the post-COVID era, and how to balance between economic growth and risk prevention? Sun Tianqi, CF40 Invited Member and Director-General of the Financial Stability Bureau at the PBC, and Gao Shanwen, Member of CF40 Academic Committee and Chief Economist at Essence Securities, contributed their wisdoms, followed by Zhang Bin, CF40 Nonresident Senior Fellow, who introduced CF40’s macroeconomic policy report for Q1 2021 titled A Portrait of China's Economic Transformation: From Manufacturing-driven to Services-led. The speakers received comments from three experts, namely, Yin Yanlin, CF40 Advisor and Deputy Director of the General Office of the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, Liu Guoqiang, CF40 Advisor and Deputy Governor of the PBC, and Huang Yiping, Chairman of CF40 Academic Committee and Deputy Dean of the National School of Development at Peking University. Moderator of the session was Zhang Xiaohui, CF40 Nonresident Senior Fellow and Dean of the PBC School of Finance at Tsinghua University.
The second parallel session was centered on “High-quality Development and Sustainable Investment”. As part of China’s intensified efforts towards carbon neutrality, a national carbon trading market is expected to be launched this June. Under the 2030/60 carbon reduction goals, what structural changes will the Chinese economy have to undergo to achieve high-quality development? What are the new opportunities and challenges in boosting sustainable investments? How to motivate the financial sector to enable an efficient carbon trading market? The session heard the voices of Xu Zhong, CF40 Member and Deputy Secretary-General of the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors, Ma Jun, CF40 Member and Dean of the Beijing Institute of Finance and Sustainability (IFS), and Duan Guosheng, Member of CF40 Council and Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of Taikang Insurance Group. Tu Guangshao, Member of CF40 Executive Council and Chairman of the Executive Council of Shanghai Finance Institute (SFI), Li Keping, CF40 Advisor and former President of China Investment Corporation (CIC), and Levin Zhu Yunlai, Member of CF40 Executive Council, offered comments. CF40 Nonresident Senior Fellow Xiao Gang moderated the session.
In addition, several awards were presented at the annual conference. Research on Monetary Policy Transmission Mechanism under Multiple Constraints co-led by Zhang Xiaohui and Li Bin, Director-General of the Macroprudential Policy Bureau at the PBC, and China’s Exchange Rate Policy Choice and Development of the Foreign Exchange Derivatives Market led by Jin Zhongxia, CF40 Invited Member and the Executive Director for China at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), were awarded CF40 Outstanding Research Projects of 2020. There is Nothing New Under the Sun authored by Professor Yu Yongding was singled out as CF40 Book of the Year, while four others were selected as CF40 Recommended Books of the Year, including Restart of Financial Innovation in China by the Jingshan Report research group under CF40, Truth of Economic Performance by Gao Shanwen, Boundary of Debt led by Zhang Bin, and Monetary Policy Transmission Mechanism under Multiple Constraints.
