Among multiple parallel sessions scheduled on the 20th at the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2026, the China-Europe Financial Investment Forum drew wide attention. Delegates from China and Europe reached a consensus that, as the global industrial chain undergoes restructuring, the financial sectors of both sides ought to explore diversified avenues of cooperation to underpin local industrial growth.
Li Xingqian, Vice Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, pointed out that China-Europe economic and trade relations have maintained steady expansion over time. The scope, scale and depth of bilateral cooperation keep expanding. Last year, bilateral trade volume exceeded 800 billion US dollars and the stock of two-way investment surpassed 280 billion US dollars. Closer ties in new energy sectors have created growing demand for supporting financial cooperation.
Li Xingqian, Vice Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade: As the synergy of China-Europe cooperation in emerging sectors including new energy, artificial intelligence, digital economy, green and low-carbon development keeps growing, market entities have an increasingly urgent need for diversified and customized cross-border financial services. Financial institutions from China and Europe can boost innovation and coordination in priority areas such as fintech, green finance and cross-border supply chain finance, and develop financial products and service packages tailored to the market needs of both sides.
Guests from European organizations including the European Financial Markets Association in Paris and the European Stability Mechanism shared their views. Europe boasts solid strengths in engineering, advanced technology and financial services alongside a sizable consumer market. Promising cooperation prospects lie in clean energy, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and life sciences. Improved financial support services will in turn facilitate deeper industrial integration. Many financial institutions present put forward preliminary plans for practical cooperation.
Liao Lin, Chairman of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China: We should better leverage the synergy of bank credit, capital markets, equity funds and long-term capital, offer financing support for joint R&D, local manufacturing and achievement commercialization, channel more capital into innovation areas with long-term value, and enable finance to fuel industrial upgrading for both sides.
Zhang Qingsong, Chairman of China Investment Corporation: We will further strengthen the coordination between financial capital and industrial capital, support Chinese enterprises to go global through market-oriented approaches and participate in international cooperation on industrial and supply chains. CIC consistently facilitates investment-in-China activities for European investors, supports European portfolio companies to develop businesses in China, helps high-quality goods and services enter the Chinese market and facilitates inbound cross-border resource allocation.
(CCTV Reporters: Wang Lei, Du Leiming, Xia Ziya)