Hot topics set for discussion in Beijing

A bilingual sign for the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2024 is prominently displayed on Beijing Financial Street to promote the event. （SONG JIARU/FOR CHINA DAILY）

A prestigious financial event is to commence on Friday in Beijing, where senior government officials, along with experts, scholars and representatives from global financial institutions, will deliver keynote speeches.

The Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2024, running until Sunday, is co-hosted by the Beijing government, the People's Bank of China, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, Xinhua News Agency and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

This year's event is to attract more than 500 distinguished guests from more than 30 countries and regions around the world.

Over the course of three days, participants will engage in discussions on current economic and financial hot topics, aiming to enhance mutual trust, deepen win-win cooperation and share development opportunities.

The theme of this year's forum is "Trust and Confidence — Work Together to Promote Financial Openness and Cooperate for Shared Economic Stability and Growth".

"Trust is the cornerstone of international cooperation and confidence is the support for economic development," said Liu Dongwei, executive secretary-general of the forum's organizing committee and head of Beijing's Xicheng district.

"This theme fully reflects the deep consensus among the forum's organizers, financial institutions and industry insiders, highlighting the development concepts of co-consultation, co-construction, co-governance and co-sharing.

"It also showcases the inclusiveness, the role of demonstration and leadership of the Financial Street Forum," he added.

This year's forum is structured around a main forum plus parallel forums and a fintech conference. It features 25 thematic activities and three investment and financing matchmaking events.

The main forum includes opening and closing ceremonies, as well as six thematic activities focusing on such topics as improving the modern central banking system, deepening capital market reforms, empowering industries through finance to lead high-quality development, and enhancing mutually beneficial international trade and investment cooperation.

The activities will also provide authoritative interpretations of international and domestic economic development trends and financial regulatory policies.

Additionally, the international level of this year's forum has been enhanced. It has set up three subvenues in Hong Kong, Luxembourg and Tokyo, inviting local governments and enterprises to participate. And, for the first time, it has invited the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council to host thematic activities in Beijing.

The closing ceremony will be held in conjunction with the Hong Kong subvenue, inviting representatives from the governments and institutions of Beijing and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to participate in an in-depth discussion on the theme of "green finance", promoting financial exchanges and cooperation between the Chinese capital and the SAR.

Also, it will continue to host high-level dialogues with former central bank governors from major global economic and financial countries, like China, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

The parallel forums will focus on "strengthening economic and financial cooperation for coordinated development" and "finance supporting sustainable economic development", setting up a series of professional, cutting-edge and in-depth activities.

The fintech conference, serving as a specific segment of the forum, will run until Tuesday. It will feature 17 events, focusing on artificial intelligence plus financial innovation; data elements plus financial applications; fintech development and achievements; and bridging the digital divide through fintech.

Liu highlighted five major features of this forum, one of which is the richer thematic setting. For instance, the forum has, for the first time, invited the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and centrally-administered and State-owned enterprises to host themed activities. These aim to emphasize the forum's role as a platform for positive interaction between finance and the real economy.

The forum has also innovated the path of sci-tech transformation by creating a fund-themed forum and holding corporate roadshows and industry-finance matchmaking meetings.

This year, the forum offers a variety of supporting activities, making it not only a professional exchange platform for financial industry practitioners but a grand event for the public.

For example, during the forum, a large-scale cultural performance will be held at the Beijing Tianqiao Performing Arts Center, covering various art forms such as dance, song, music and opera.

In addition, the forum will conduct a large-scale series of shopping activities. Starting from Oct 1 and lasting nearly a month, these activities are taking place mainly at Beijing's Seasons Place luxury shopping mall and its surrounding areas.

They include a coffee market, auto shows, electronic product roadshows and outdoor dining experiences. There will also be a global product launch and sale event, offering substantial discounts and consumption vouchers to the public.