Distinguished Chairman Kevin Rudd, Han Seung-soo, distinguished guests and friends:
This year is the 13th annual meeting of the IFF. On the occasion, as an old member and an old friend, I would like to express my gratitude to all of you and to Chairman Kevin Rudd and Han Seung-soo, and all the leaders and members who have made outstanding contributions to the development and construction of IFF.
At present, the global economic recovery is still weak, and the development problems facing countries are still grim. Responding to the downside risks of the global economy, boosting confidence, and promoting global economic recovery and sustainable growth have become top priorities. In 2013, President Xi Jinping proposed to jointly build the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road”, namely, the Belt and Road Initiative. He advocated that we should adhere to the spirit of open regional cooperation, and be committed to maintaining the global free trade system and the open world economy to build a multi-dimensional a community of shared future for mankind, which is increasingly supported by leaders in Asia and other regions.
The Belt and Road Initiative is an open strategy that aims to build a community of shared future for all countries in Asia and the world to promote global prosperity and cooperation. The new multilateral development institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Silk Road Fund, which are established for this purpose, are open, democratic, clean and efficient multilateral international financial development institutions established in accordance with the standards and requirements of the international multilateral system. Using China's advanced experience in infrastructure construction and high-end equipment manufacturing, and relying on economic and financial comparative advantages to promote the industrialization and urbanization of countries along the Belt and Road, these institutions will surly strengthen trade exchanges, explore capacity cooperation, and promote economic growth.
As an independent, transparent and non-governmental platform based on international financial diplomacy and strategic think tanks in China and emerging market economies, the International Finance Forum (IFF) has been committed to promoting international financial exchanges and cooperation for 13 years, with a view to strengthening research and judgment on economic and financial strategies, and striving to create a good platform for communication and dialogue for global financial and political leaders, scholars and experts. Looking ahead, the IFF will build on the 13-year's experience to be the F20 in global financial sector through a broader cooperative dialogue mechanism.
On the eve of the G20 summit in Hangzhou, the IFF issued the F20 initiative to reinvent the essence of finance, and is committed to promoting “new capital, new value, new world – a new era of comprehensive and sustainable development”. In this way, The IFF will build a global network of F20, actively guide the return of finance to the essence, serve the real economy, reconstruct and improve the fundamental economic system, and promote global economic recovery and overall sustainable development.
At the same time, in order to promote the development of the Belt and Road Initiative, and give full play to the leading and core role of finance, the International Finance Forum (IFF), together with the former political leaders, experts and scholars, economic, financial institutions and business leaders from the the Belt and Road countries and neibour countries, jointly initiated the establishment of the Silk Road International Association. The aim is to unite the international community, the global market and private capital to establish an open global network, to promote consensus on the core principle of being “open, inclusive, mutually beneficial and win-win” of the Belt and Road Initiative, and to build a Silk Road cooperation and dialogue mechanism among the civil societies.
These two initiatives are open to the public and are a strong complement to new multilateral development institutions such as the AIIB, the NDB and the Silk Road Fund, which will greatly enhance international non-governmental exchanges and cooperation, provide a new perspective for solving the global growth problem in the post-crisis era. This if of far-reaching significance and should be supported and helped by all around the world. On behalf of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to SRIA and wish the IFF 2016 Global Annual Conference a complete success!
(This article is the speech of Mr. Jin Liqun at the 2016 International Annual Meeting of IFF)