Edmond Alphandéry: Thank you very much. First of all, I want to tell you that as one of the IFF Chairman, we established the IFF Forum in 2003, and I am also one of the chairmen. I also want to thank our organizers. I want to thank the organizers for Give us this opportunity to talk about China-EU trade cooperation and the prospects for financial cooperation, as well as the future. If you look at the current numbers, we see more exciting trends and some confusing signals. For example, trade and product services, Europe is China's largest trading partner, for example, in terms of sales, and second only to the United States, this is relative to China's imports. And our current trade flows have grown very sharply over the past decade, and imports to China have increased by 30%. And exports have grown even higher. The current trade deficit represents half of the volume of trade, and in the past three years, we have seen some new trends, which shows that imports have also increased. From 300 billion to 350 billion, but exports still only 170 billion. How do we balance trade? At the same time, how to achieve a harmonious relationship between China and Britain and Central Europe is also something we need to pay attention to. Let us look at the cooperation in financial trade. Now look at FDI. If it is the EU-China FDI, it will reach 168 billion euros in 2015, while China's FDI to Europe is only 35 billion euros. This is some figures from the European Union. Therefore, we can see that there is also a very large imbalance in foreign investment (Central Europe). I don't think this can cover up China's increasing investment. Now China's investment in Europe has become more and more balanced. At the same time, the European Commission also has some very interesting information. In the first half of 2017, we can see the FDI transaction, which is the EU's investment transaction in China, mainly in the materials industry. The main countries are Germany, France and the UK, which is 33%, if it is down 33% compared to last year. For China’s investment in Europe, the CEIBS report now shows that transactions to Europe reached 4 billion in the second quarter, which is the lowest level, which is the lowest level since the first quarter of 2015, so now China There is still room for improvement in investment in Europe. You can see that there is room for improvement in both investments. Looking at these financial cooperation between China and Europe, these financial problems will also bring about many social and economic impacts. In fact, China and the EU attach great importance to the relationship between the two sides. I feel that the future vision and planning are also very important for this relationship. For example, we have a cooperation strategy for CEIBS in 2020, which was signed in 2013, and we need to pay more attention to this strategy. We have to look at how we can achieve a win-win cooperation and achieve win-win cooperation between China and Europe. Investors around the world are still seeing some new actions, and investors must also do more to solve global challenges. Through this strategic plan, CEIBS has said that it must strengthen market access, strengthen investment, and strengthen financial cooperation and intellectual property protection. This strategic partnership is also based on quality, investment-based, equality-based, and network-related. The protection of space involves defense, governance issues, and sustainable development, as well as how to mitigate global changes and other aspects of cooperation. This 2020 strategic agenda is mutually developed between China and Europe, because it seems to me to be the most important framework for building a long-term win-win partnership, especially in terms of trade and investment.

 

Let's take a look at some of the problems we face and how we can truly achieve better cooperation and exchanges between China and Europe. From the Chinese side, we now have very positive economic changes. First of all, more domestic consumption is good news for us because it can promote China's economic development and make China's economic development more stable. At the same time, it can better strengthen the scale of the market and allow Chinese partners and better cooperation with European partners. Secondly, seeing this open policy of capital account, we now see a framework for financial stability, which is also very welcome. Although some views are now within China and outside China, they all hope to accelerate financial activities. Innovation and activities, but from a global perspective, we prefer to see the stability of a financial system. Because there is too much liquidity now, but the coordination of monetary policy around the world is not enough, so we must have a stricter regulatory framework to allow these financial activities to be well regulated. We know that Chinese regulators also want to spend more time to liberalize their capital accounts. Because the world is not a big system, the monetary and fiscal policies of our countries have an impact. We hope to see a more stable monetary policy.

 

Speaking of China's investment in Europe, we saw that in June 2017, a new decision was made to promote foreign investment in the free trade zone. In 2017, we have a negative list system, and in many industries, investment supervision has been liberalized. For example, aviation, automobiles, roads, transportation, equipment, and telecommunications, drugs, and other industries have already released restrictions. Banks and insurance companies also have requirements for their investment, which is no longer there. This is also good news for China. Because these pilot free trade zones, such as Shenzhen, also require domestic and international investment, they can maintain their appeal. Therefore, we also very much welcome the Chinese authorities to continue to implement these policies, and at the same time continue to remove these restrictions and obstacles in order to make China's investment environment better and make its investment in China more stable. We find that China's European investment is not particularly successful. For example, in Greece's ports, as well as cooperation with France, there are many other investment projects, which are of great reference to China and Europe.

 

But when it comes to trade balance, many people in Europe should want China to expand its European investment, such as high-end products, and they also hope to have more investment in these large domestic markets. Because China has become one of the largest retail markets. In order to create an environment of mutual trust and mutual cooperation, and to create such a friendly environment between China and Europe, I feel that China should be further deepened to integrate with Europe. There are two things that need to be solved. The first thing is to Eurozone. We have succeeded in freeing ourselves from the crisis in Europe. For example, we have already recovered in terms of economic growth. But we also need to enhance such confidence recovery. We need to strengthen the supervision of the banking industry to strengthen the financial industry. At the same time, we must strengthen Cooperation between member states and member states, such as the French President Marcus, said that we should follow this direction to reform so that Chinese consumers and investors can have more confidence in the European market. For the European market, we should go well to solve the Brexit. And in terms of climate change, we should all continue to promote such a dialogue. Of course we know that such a challenge is very difficult, but in the end we have to resort to it. A better way for both sides is an agreement that everyone can reach a consensus.

 

At the same time, I also want to reiterate the EU's emphasis on China. We very much welcome Chinese investors to establish such an investment framework in 2012, promote the investment and trade framework between China and Europe, and the cooperation between the two sides, the trade framework between China and Europe. Including 11 EU countries through this “Belt and Road” initiative, we have already seen China's investment in infrastructure, which is very beneficial to our own economic development, we must continue to follow up on such initiatives. At the same time, European investment banks and Silk Road Alliance have also signed a memorandum of understanding, such as equity financing in Europe, I think this is a very good signal, has seen many European financial institutions in China's eight provinces Make relevant investments. We are very confident in such investments, and we are very optimistic about the future changes. We believe that both sides have realized the challenges we are facing and we are already on the right path. We have already seen this. The pillars can support the security, stability and prosperity of both sides and allow us to further develop. Thank you for your patience.

   

Christopher Jeffery：Thank you very much for your speech. According to our agenda, Wang Yuan is an Executive Member of IFF Academic Committee，Former Chief Economist of China Development Bank (CDB). Xia Le is the Chief Economist for Asia, BBVA Research, Wu Jianxin is the Chairman of Shenquan oil and Gas energy Group Co. Ltd., Wang Xingnan is the Vice President of Guangdong University of Finance. At the same time, we also have Mr. Ben Shenglin, who is the teacher of the School of Internet Finance of Zhejiang University. Each of our speakers has about ten minutes to introduce today's theme.

Wang Yuan: Thank you very much, Mr. President, I am very happy to share with you in this session. We have been studying about Central Europe and even the United Kingdom, on trading partnerships, investment partnerships. Actually we have included the United Kingdom in these studies. However, the UK decided to leave the European Union last year, and now it has become a new situation. Therefore, when we talk about this issue, sometimes we have to list the UK separately, including its entire statistics, the market judgment,and its trade relations with the two sides after the Brexit. We will have new conclusions in this regard.

 

However, in terms of the overall economy in the next few years, I think that the economic cooperation and trade relations among China, the EU and the United Kingdom will have a good relationship with each other. Why? The first is based on one of the most basic judgments, that is, China and the European Union has strong economic complementarity. For the sake of brevity, I will include the United Kingdom in the EU. This is the basis of economic cooperation. Due to the geopolitical issue, the impact of immigration and refugee problems, and the global financial crisis in 2007 and 2008, the euro zone has been greatly affected. The overall economic situation in China has changed over the past few years, because of our overall economic development policies, our own structural problems, and the downward trend economy growth. In the process of adjustment, sometimes it is easy to solve economic and trade problems by politic movements. I think this is what China and Europe should avoid when solving trade and investment problems.

 

When I was doing my own research, also when we were working as a bank, if we consider economic issues in the long run, consider the long-term development among different countries, and the people’s well-being, we will carry out more pragmatic actions. Why is the economy and its products between China and Europe strongly complementary? You can recall that in the reform and opening up of China in the 1980s, the very first relatively large-scale enterprises were introduced from Europe. The same is true for financial institutions. These companies, which are well known to all, have established joint ventures in China. And many good European companies, even have their own R&D centers in Shanghai, and in Kunshan. I think this is a very good trend. But in fact, a good foundation does not necessarily mean that it can last forever. For example, Ericsson was the first to establish a R&D center in China, and we all felt rejoicing at the time. But now it lags behind in this industry now, and their R&D centers are actually turned off.

 

The example I gave is that we must look at this issue with a dynamic attitude in the process of economic and trade cooperation. It is not a certain phenomenon that can lead to the conclusion that this foreign investment environment in China is not good. This is arbitrary. We should look at it in a normal, positive way and look forward to future cooperation. There is also a huge space for cooperation between China and the European Union in finance. If we look back on these financial services, we can think of how we made use of the EU market in the 1980s and 1990s. We are co-financing in the EU market, or we are going to issue Chinese bonds. In fact, the financing is in one-way. But in the process of China's development, not only must it be financed globally, but it can also participate in global financing. In this regard, the relatively sound laws and regulations of the European Union are still the basis for our long-term cooperation in the future. Credit establishment is also very important.

 

But Mr. Alphandéry mentioned that our cooperation with Europe is not only with the EU, but also within the EU. We also propose some new ways of cooperation, such as 16+1, which includes 16 countries from Eastern Europe to Central Europe with differences in economic and social systems, culture and religious beliefs. It is very difficult for us to use 16+1 to promote cooperation with foreign countries. When I was doing business in the China Development Bank, we used the method of "one country one policy". This means when you deal with each country, you must respond to the financing needs of the local host country to find out suitable financial cooperation it needs. I think this is very important.

 

Also in the process of cooperation, if problems occur, it is likely to blame each other. Western countries or the EU will blame China of having many trade barriers and non-trade barriers. We know this is true. For example, everyone knows how fast our car industry is developing. However, 5 out of the 100 cars purchased and consumed are imported. Why? The tariff on cars is very high. Russia, as a transitional economy just like China, there is no such expensive car as an emerging market economy. But there are also many non-tariff trade barriers in these years. I think we have these problems if we check ourselves. For example, when we carried out negotiations on joining the WTO, there are three basic principles, that is, market access, national treatment and information disclosure and transparency. Now if you look backwards, sometimes the treatment of foreign capital and Chinese capital is really different. We should address these concerns step by step. Trade between countries must be fair with each other. When we participate in the process of economic globalization, China still needs to actively participate and even play a leading role. China should be open to the outside world and invigorated internally. This principle will not change. If you want to go out, you also want others to treat you fairly. If you play a responsible role in the international arena, I think that everyone should be treated fairly.

 

In terms of the intellectual property protection issues, because this is also a problem that makes investors very discouraged. The foreign capital enter China with their patents and technology here, and they should be transferred according to the contract. Therefore, I believe that in international cooperation, whether it is the EU and the United Kingdom or the United States, multilateral and bilateral cooperation should be based on the principle of equality, but not political actions.

 

If we confirm the bilateral relation between China and the EU is a long-term strategic partnership , it is also very important to establish political mutual trust. However, political mutual trust must be consolidated the relationship of financial cooperation. Just now, Mr. Alphandéry mentioned that China has joined the SDR, it means that you have to open your capital account. So I think this is a must for our further reform of the capital account.

 

Second, the 19^th National Congress report announced the further opening of the financial industry, proposed by regulatory agencies in China. In the future, the highest foreign shareholding of the securities companies, insurance institutions, etc, can reach 51%. Open measures like this will further promote the opening of the capital account, which is a good news for the foreign capital.

 

In addition, political mutual trust will ensure the last-long stable economic and trade relations. Therefore, both China and the EU are demanding to overcome trade protectionism, and the China-EU comprehensive investment agreement that is under negotiation now seems to enter the countdown stage. If all the agreements are in place, I think it is still very promising for us.

 

Finally, I want to emphasize that, whether China’s own economic development or long-term mutually beneficial cooperation with global trading partners, depend on China’s further reform and the opening up. Thank you all.

  

Christopher Jeffery: Thank you very much for your comments. You said a few points. At the beginning, I mentioned that there may be some changes in the situation of the EU due to Brexit, because the British leaders are very supportive of China’s initiatives. In addition, you also talked about practical and long-term issues. They also talked about other cooperation mechanisms, such as 16+1. In addition, it is also necessary to understand the situation of each country, rather than treating it from one sector. I also talked about the issues of WTO, access, and high tariff barriers. I also talked about the fair treatment of domestic and international investors. I also talked about the need to open up the capital market because I think the RMB has become a part of SDR. And you also mentioned that foreign investors can achieve a 51% shareholding in insurance and financial companies. Now we invite Mr. Xia Le, who is the chief economist of BBVA China. The Bank of Spain is a large bank with operations all over the world. Thank you.

 

Xia Le: From a macroscopic perspective, recently, we have seen a relatively simultaneous economic recovery in the world. I feel that nothing can better explain the importance of free trade more than this example. Why? China's recovery is largely thanks to imports from Europe and the United States, so we have benefited from this.In the same way, European recovery is somehow thanks to more exports to China.This is the first time in our department's history that everyone has thanks others for the economic recovery. We used to say that the United States had problems and spilled over to Europe. At that time, everyone believed that China’s exchange rate issue had led to instability in the global financial market. For the first time, however, people begin to wonder whether this simultaneous recovery was caused by China, by the United States, or Europe. This kind of freedom and reciprocity will make every country better. This is my understanding.

 

Unfortunately, as we recovered, we also saw the rise of global trade protectionism. We saw in August that the United States used Section 301 to investigate China, which will take about a year's time. Looking into the history, this should be the first time that the United States uses it to investigate China. If we want to maintain this kind of free trade, China and the EU must work together to carry out more cooperation in this regard and ensure the smooth progress of free trade. In particular, this economic recovery, and I feel that the entire global economy has formed a three-point system. China, the United States, and Europe are the three biggest drivers of growth. If the United States withdraws from the free trade system for its own political reasons, then if China and Europe continue to adhere to free trade, we still have the opportunity to see the next round of global economic recovery and growth. If we withdraw just like the United States, returning to nationalism or protectionism, it may have a very serious blow to our entire free trade system.

 

Second, I want to share with you some interesting observation in China-EU bilateral trade. Just now, our keynote speaker mentioned that China has a large surplus with the EU. This is a trade issue and is often cited by the EU to negotiate with China. In fact, however, this trade surplus is uneven within the EU.China's exports to Germany in 2016 were 65.2 billion US dollars, while importing 86.1 billion US dollars from Germany, which means that we have a deficit of 20.9 billion US dollars, but a surplus of 193 billion for the EU. Many times in the negotiation, we say the EU, but who is the EU? We sometimes feel confused. We can't find a representative to negotiate with the EU as a whole. This also reflects in the recognition of China's market economy status. The United States said no directly, but the EU was quite volatile in the past year and a half. Germany once announced its recognition of China's market economy status, but unfortunately this cannot represent opinions of all member states in the EU. So in the bilateral negotiations, we feel that this may be more of a structural problem, which is a very interesting phenomenon. How to conduct further smooth negotiations between China and the EU in the future, I think China is not the only country that requires the adjustment, but also at the EU level.

 

After talking about trade issues, let's talk about investment issues. In the past few years I have attended a lot of investment meetings with European investors who have large investment in China, we discussed about trade issues with each other. This year, I have a chance to meet a Danish company for duck feeds. Many people complain the worsening business environment in China, especially for foreign business, but this company said that they felt pretty good. I said that many other foreign investors complain about the rising labor cost. This is also the most important issue. The representative asked whether I know how many ducks China consumes a day. That's 4 million - an unimaginable figure in other countries. Therefore, I can only provide the best duck feed in order to best serve my customers. Through his story, I have found that there is a very important change in the foreign investors. Before, many foreign companies value China's cheap labor costs. They invest in China, having Chinese workers assemble and export products, to serve his market, maybe in Europe. But now more investors value our domestic market, as China's huge consumer market potential is unlimited. This means that we have to change our trade terms. For example, the bilateral investment treaty. China must fully understand that when we conduct further negotiations, in terms of intellectual property protection, market access, bilateral relation, etc. We are not just providing cheap labor. We need a deep understanding of this point.

 

Finally, I would like to talk about the BRI. I am most impressed by the fact that in May of this year, we had an IFF forum in Hangzhou. One speaker at the time said that we should now consider joining the Washington Convention, a treaty for international arbitration in the world. We have long been adhering to local or China's laws when conflicts occur overseas trade or when we need legal arbitration. With the proposal of BRI, many European friends are very happy about it, but also worried about China's real purpose in this regard. I told them that China is not going to change the whole world, but gradually integrate into the global system, in terms of law, economy and other aspects. Thank you.

 

Christopher Jeffery: I am very grateful to Mr. Xia for his very wise point of view. At the same time, China and the EU must now ensure that we can achieve a long-term and better cooperation. At the same time, Mr. Xia also mentioned that foreign investors not only export products in China, but also want to enter the Chinese market directly. This is very important for foreign investors, and he also mentioned very interesting challenges, and The opportunities brought by the “Belt and Road” will be seen to see how to solve the problem with international arbitration. At the same time, we also know that some countries in the West may have some concerns about what kind of results the “Belt and Road” will bring. He also explained these doubts to us. These views are very interesting. Now I will invite Mr. Wu to introduce some of his views.

   

   

Wu Jianxin: Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, I am honored to share with you some of my own personal experiences of China-EU trade and finance.I have two points in this regard. The first point is the opportunity for Africa trade in the new trade market between China and Europe. I have been doing trade between China and Europe since 1980s, sell Chinese products to Europe, and bringing back European quality products to China. With the rapid development of China in recent years, the materials and demand for mass products are still rising, and we still need to import them. However, it is impossible for Europe to have such raw materials, so in their colonies, that is, in Africa, really a paradise for investors. But the first thing I want to say here is that in Africa, in fact, they are actually in the early stages of development, and the way we are doing trade there is very traditional, even primitive, like China in the 1970s. They all traded with cash, not a little bit, but one or two million dollars, in cash.

 

In fact, the cooperation between China and the EU in Africa is really good. With there management experience there, we Chinese can rely on them to find reliable projects and opportunities, or even they do management for us. China has capital and demands for export, so we can have great opportunities for trade and financial services. If China has a RMB settlement in Africa, we will have more trade in RMB.

 

Second, with the general trend of RMB internationalization, I would like to talk about China-EU financial cooperation in the bond market. In fact, before 2010, China’s bond market was seldom involved in international capital, mainly because China’s capital market has not yet been opened to the outside world. With the rise of China’s economic strength and foreign exchange reserves, the government has begun to realize the importance of internationalization of RMB. There are more RMB services provided abroad in recent years.

 

In 2009, the pilot program for RMB settlement of cross-border trade officially began. In 2010, the scope of the pilot program was further expanded. In 2013, the Chinese government proposed a preliminary initiative, the Belt and Road Initiative. The internationalization of RMB and the BRI objectively demand China and other countries achieve connectivity among the financial markets, and the bond market is also one of the potential areas of key cooperation. In recent years, our company has also established an investment banking team in Europe. The partners, including bankers and senior lawyers, provide financial services to enterprises and the government. Now our team is working with several major investment banks in China to prepare the issuance of RMB bonds in European countries, including Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and Hungary. The RMB bonds are named Panda bonds, which will be a golden opportunity to gradually open the domestic market. I suggest that China-EU trade cooperation should not be limited to the two economies. There are also many opportunities in the new growth region, Africa. We should work closely together to learn from European experience, and achieve a win-win situation. With the internationalization of the RMB, more financial institutions and enterprises should should take the free ride and produce more win-win outcomes. Thank you!

 

Christopher Jeffery: Thank you very much for a brief introduction to the key points just mentioned. For example, the cooperation between China and Europe can be carried out in Africa, because there is still a lot of cooperation potential, and it can also be financed by RMB. At the same time, it can also use RMB to issue bonds, including Panda bonds, and some other financial Innovation. The points you mentioned are very interesting. Next, I will invite Mr. Wang Xingnan.

   

Wang Xingnan: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I just listened to several guests here and I am inspired by them.

 

I am a teacher from a local university in Guangzhou. I want to give some comments from the perspective of the theme of the forum. First, China-EU cooperation itself is a very important part of the world trade and economic structure. It also represents a trend of the cooperation pattern of the world trade. Therefore, it is quite symbolic from the perspective of rules and trends. This is also an area of great interest in the academic research. And there is still great potential in this regard.

 

The problem occurred in China-EU trade cooperation is the problem of world economy and trade. From the perspective of future development, we cannot do too long-term calculations. If we look at the development of the next decade, this future development must be optimistic.

 

Second, I want to talk about the Greater Bay Area economy and new economic growth points. After coming back from abroad, I live in the Pearl River Delta for 17 years. I have witnessed the development of the entire Pearl River Delta, especially in Guangzhou. I also lived in the Tokyo Bay Area for five years. Therefore, I have a deep feeling in this regard. I am full of confidence that the development of the Greater Bay Area will enhance China-EU cooperation in the medium- and long-term. Judging by the current development of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, we can count on this area.

 

From my personal observation, I just came back from San Francisco. I think our Bay Area ranks the fourth globally, but its economic vitality is the strongest. This is very much felt. I have also mainly studied internet finance recently. In the whole Pearl River Delta, the development of Internet financing is really unmatched in other regions, and even different in multiples. Everyone will feel it in life.

 

Third, I want to explain what we think about the development of the Greater Bay Area. First, judging by the development of the various Bay Areas in the world, I've found out that it is determined by some factors. In terms of the infrastructure, we've quite a good job in this regard, which will be supportive for other development in this area. Second, the intangible infrastructure generated in the Internet era. I personally think that the Greater Bay Area must be the most active region of Internet in the world, with huge growth potential in the future are huge. It is driven by the new technology centered in Shenzhen. This is our expectation. We all have WeChat on our phone. There's no WeChat just five years ago, but it has developed to such a degree. This is a new kind of infrastructure that will facilitate trade, people's daily life and other aspects.

 

Fourth, the Bay Area is now a region where Chinese young people gather very densely, which guarantees abundant and high quality Mr. Wu said that the young African labor force is continuous, but the quality of the labor force is another. However, if you push it forward, it will still be new and safe in Southeast Asia and southern China. Labor resources are very rich. The development to this day, especially the new Internet technology, the advancement of AI technology, has led to the internal competition in China has completely evolved into a compelling competition. In the past, we were robbing talents, high-end talents, and of course high-end talents were always indispensable for technological progress. But where in today's world can attract young people, where is the potential for development. For example, in the world where the sharing of bicycles is most efficient, it is Guangzhou, so this is the third development that can be expected.

 

In addition, from the perspective of world rules, the entire framework of the world economy, I think China can take the initiative. In the future, China will have more voices for its development on the world stage. Based on the above factors, I believe that the further growth and development of the Greater Bay Area, especially the growth and development in the next decade, is very predictable and will enjoy prosperity. Blessed with natural conditions and a rich population of resources, the development of the Bay Area will definitely boost China-EU cooperation, which is a very important part of the entire world trade framework, and boost cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. Thank you!

 

Christopher Jeffery: I am very grateful to Mr. Wang for analyzing this topic from a more specific perspective, the importance of these tangible and intangible infrastructures for regional development. Thank you for sharing. Now we invite the last speaker, Mr. Ben Shenglin.

   

   

Ben Shenglin: Many thanks to Christopher Jeffery.We are talking about the cooperation among countries and regions. And I want to talk about more about BRI That is, this Initiative should be the main playfield for cooperation between China and the EU.

 

Many people may think that this initiative is China's initiative. In fact, this is not only China's, and maybe even beyond the 65 countries that signed agreements with China. How much is it? The 65 countries, China excluded, account for 43% of the world's population, 16% the world GDP, approximately equivalent to China's GDP, and 22% of global trade. However, this area is not well developed in economy, trade and finance. We have done some research recently, and 49 of the 64 countries have data. My team is carrying out a study recently, and it turns out that 49 countries have related figures. About 40 countries need domestic financing, and their financial systems are not able to provide sufficient support for their economic development. At the same time, China hopes to help these countries though the Initiative. I think we should enhance the ties with these countries in this regard.

 

For example, among the 64 countries,China have bank branches only in 26 countries and have Chinese insurance companies or representative offices in 20 countries. While Europe can play a role in this because of its excellent banking system, a system of management, talents, funds, and other things that China needs. Our joint efforts can be given full play in this large market and enjoy great opportunities. In terms of Fintech, China is actually the global leader and has the largest fintech market. In underdeveloped areas, fintech can grow fast, such as Africa. If China and the EU can cooperate, providing funds, financial services and the latest technology, the “Belt and Road” region will become an area that is economically and financially inclusive. Some people may ask, why should Europe care about the “Belt and Road” area? Geographically speaking, it is actually the connection between Europe and China, a new Silk Road. These countries are both China's and Europe's neighbors. There is a saying in China that distant relatives are not as helpful as close neighbors. Therefore, to solve Europe's own problems, we must also solve the problems of the Middle East, Central Asia, and Eastern Europe - because they are our common neighbors. That's why BRI is not only an initiative of China, but also of Europe and our common goal. Thank you.

   

Christopher Jeffery：Well, your information is very clear, financial inclusiveness has grown, and you just talked about the concept of distant relatives as close neighbors. Now we have a little time to discuss. The questions I want to raise are related to this. I ask the guests a question. You all talked about the biggest opportunity you should seize now. Just now you talked about the opportunities in Africa. This argument is similar. From your point of view, do you think that if you want to achieve a win-win situation, what should Central Europe do? Where can we strengthen cooperation? It is not necessarily a comprehensive transaction or an arrangement. It can be a more specific action. It is very willing to listen to your thoughts.

 

Wang Yuan：Thank you Christopher Jeffery. The topic itself is relatively large, so we have to make it smaller. In fact, the cooperation between China and Europe is very complementary. For example, China and Germany are technically and financially complementary. Germany was actually a very open economy after World War II. It is also traditionally a country with a very good technical foundation. The number of the patented technology that they own is, I think, very high in the EU. But it has a feature here. When we were doing the China Development Bank business in Europe, including in Germany, we found that many of these companies with advanced technology in the world are not the largest companies like ours. Not the large companies like Siemens and ABB, many of which are small and medium-sized enterprises. The owner of the patent are actually the chairman of the company, and these companies are all developed from their original private companies. This generation grow up after World War II. These people are in their seventies, and have a need to find new markets. Therefore, our development bank has also promoted several relatively good, very high technologies. I will not talk about specifics first. Because sometimes they are not willing to over-promote, we have done business, it is good for both sides, and it will be good. They do these drills, such as those used in aviation, offshore oil drilling, their material technology, and processing technology are really first class. And they not only have a traditional international market, they also want to push this market very firmly into Asia, because Asia is the fastest growing and most stable region in the global economy. Political troubles are also less. So if the two sides need to complement each other, if you can join the financial services, this cooperation will be easier to promote. Sometimes both parties have a will, but there is a gap in funding, and this can't be done.

 

Another example, in Portugal, when the global financial crisis occurred in 2007 and 2008, Portugal almost had to withdraw from the euro zone, because of their large fiscal deficit. There was no way to make up for it. Its only way is to sell its own state-owned equity in large companies to some Chinese-funded enterprises, like electricity and power grids, which are important infrastructures for the country. The Chinese companies that want to acquire equities of the Putorgese government also talked with the Development Bank. We said that if you want to do it for a long time, you'd better act as a shareholder and let the Putorgese government in charge of the daily management. I feel that when doing international business, we must think about these factors very carefully. You can provide funds, but you should think twice before you put your managing team in it. What Mr. Wu said just now is very important. We should take advantange of the local wisdom and talent - this is a very important point when it comes to international business. Therefore, China's cooperation with the EU, I think it can not be an exception. So when these equities sold to Chinese companies, there were some criticisms at the time, because someone felt emotionally unacceptable. After all, this sale stabilized the economy at that time, and its managing team remained local. When I went there for investigation, I found that the general manager of Portugal Power was the general manager of Macao Power. He worked in Asia for more than 20 years, knowing China and Putorgal very well, so he also plays a very important role in the process of talking about this business.

 

Therefore, if we want to make the cooperation sustainable in the long run, we should start with a very down-to-earth, very specific example. That's my view, thank you.

  

Christopher Jeffery：Thank you very much for sharing. I want to ask Mr. Xia, have you seen a similar attitude? If Spain encounters this problem, how will they solve it? How do your colleagues view this issue? At the same time, in Spain, we have a comprehensive cooperation agreement on investment. This is also a very important negotiation document between China and Europe. It has been negotiated since 2013. The goal is to hope that both China and the EU can enter each other, while protecting the investor's investment,. This negotiation has been going on for some time. Have you seen any progress in the negotiations in this regard? Or is there any new change?

 

Xia Le：Thank you very much. We hope to promote free trade with all countries, which can help those European countries that have encountered difficulties. Now that these European countries have recovered, we have also talked about the negotiation of bilateral investment. However, due to the changed political atmosphere, the negotiation hasn't reached agreements last year. But I think after 15 rounds of negotiations, we have a high probability of reaching an agreement. But there are still many obstacles, first of all, whether the EU is willing to recognize China's investment status. Second, the bilateral investment agreement is also the starting point of the free trade agreement between the two sides. If China does not abide by the rules of the WTO, it is meaningless for us to negotiate a higher level of free trade. However, I think that both China and the EU have introduced some stimulating policies in this regard, and I hope that some progress will be made by the end of this year.

 

Christopher Jeffery：I will ask Professor Wang again. Can you share with us some of the biggest opportunities in China-EU cooperation? You hope that these partners in Europe, if you talk about the construction of the Greater Bay Area, what are you expect from the European countries to promote the development of the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau? From the perspective a European partner, what do you think they should do?

  

Wang Xingnan：Thank you. I think that during the development of the Greater Bay Area, the space for cooperation with EU countries should be very broad and comprehensive. Overall, the economic structure of the Greater Bay Area, in a sense, represents an economic structure of China. From the perspective of the existing relationship between the entire Bay Area and the EU countries, I don't have specific core data.However, from China's current trade contacts and people-to-people exchange, I belive the Greater Bay Area takes a large proportion inthis regard, and it shows such characteristics in all the process of international cooperation.

 

In addition, from the perspective of the commercial scope and development trends for further cooperation between the Greater Bay Area and the EU, the Greater Bay Area is acceptable to the rules of global trade. I feel that this area perfectly accepts and coordinated with external rules, with the premise that the EU's enterprises have relatively strong complementarities with China's, which will be of great help to the economic cooperation. A premise of the cooperation, is through constant communication and down-to-earth study. Of course, in specific areas, we have decision makers and practioners who can give better advice to EU countries and companies. I will not elaborate on this issue here, thank you.

 

 

 

Christopher Jeffery：I want to add something about this. Because I feel that there is still a great potential for cooperation between China and Europe, not only in Africa, but also through Spain to enter the Latin American market is also very potential. Some people mentioned the importance of the “Belt and Road”. Europe is also very supportive of the AIIB. The AIIB is also in the “Belt and Road” countries, but there are still some concerns, such as some people think that the project must be environmentally friendly, and it Also subject to reliable supervision, do you think this will be an obstacle? Because now everyone may not be the same for the “Belt and Road” idea, how do you think we can solve this obstacle?

 

Ben Shenlin：I think this is a very good question. I can't express my views on behalf of President Jin Liqun. My own point of view, as the AIIB, takes the best decisions and adopts the best practices to ensure that we can recruit better talents from all over the world. Of course, we are very grateful to Europe for its support to the AIIB. But from the perspective of the AIIB globally, the AIIB is very large, but not big enough, especially for the “Belt and Road”, especially from the perspective of investment and infrastructure, the AIIB is only one of the world’s needs. Small part. This is back to my favorite topic, financial technology, we must embrace technology, we must ensure that we have inclusive finance, we must let crowdfunding and these formats be applied, can be applied to the development of AIIB and technology. . We need to ensure that we have the right rules in place to truly implement PPP and achieve public-private partnerships, especially in infrastructure development. This will allow the public to participate in it. This has been applied in some cases. For example, in the Netherlands and Egypt, I think we have to do better. I think we are more daring to apply these technologies, such as financial technology, to ensure that we Participation is greater and ensures public participation in our projects.

 

Christopher Jeffery：Thank you, very interesting point of view. I have to ask another question, go back to some of the topics I mentioned before, and talk about the "Belt and Road". I also talked about the "16+1" dialogue. There are also some concerns in Europe, that is, "One Belt, One Road" The "16+1" may cause the opposition between the East and the West. Do you think this is a fair point of view? If so, what do we need to do to alleviate people's concerns?

 

Wang Yuan：In Europe, I mentioned the pattern of “16+1” just now. In fact, it is also said that there is a slight difference in the different development stages of the EU, its different stages of regional development. Even so, I think 16 is also big. It puts different political systems and historical cultures together. If you want to put it together, I think it will be more difficult to say, and it will be more difficult to implement. You don't need to implement it, just put it as a political slogan and watch it. However, if it continues to be implemented, 16 needs to be subdivided. This may be politically considered and I hope to continue to subdivide the EU. Because the developed EU, the traditional core EU members, like the original France, Germany, including the United Kingdom, this is the EU's most important country, of course, the United Kingdom is now preparing to leave the European Union. Of course, the way of cooperation is on the “Belt and Road” and the way of cooperation with China and these countries. If you want to see trade relations, like Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, they also have trade deficits with China, but in the future. The balance between trade deficits is solved by economic restructuring and trade restructuring on both sides. If you want to look at the 16+1 16 countries, the 16 countries have a larger trade deficit, almost all of which are China’s one-way to these countries. Exports, these countries have nothing, no technology, no raw materials, no good industrial manufactured goods exported to China. Take Poland as an example. I have been to Poland many times. They have an investment committee. Just like our original foreign investment committee, I hope to absorb the investment from outside and come to Poland. I also sit down and talk about the bilateral trade between China and Poland. . Our Chinese delegation believes that China and Poland are very complementary. In fact, in agriculture, agricultural products and food, there are some Chinese raw materials that can be processed in Poland and exported to the EU because it is already Member states of the European Union, it can avoid the trade barriers. However, there are some specific difficulties in the process of operation, not so smooth. Sometimes you come up with a way to continually refine and adjust during the implementation process. Sometimes it appears, for example, in the EU, it begins to subdivide. When you subdivide, you may use political eyes to say that 16+1 is more of a member of the original Eastern Europe, in terms of number. Including countries such as Austria and Hungary, in fact, like Hungary and the Czech Republic, even under the influence of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the political system has been greatly separated from the Soviet Union since the 1960s, otherwise there will be no Czech Spring, Hungary. These problems of the incident, it is difficult to put these 16 countries into a very simple political union. So this political alliance does not exist at all, especially in Austria. The Czech Republic and Slovakia are still divided into two countries. When we see these things, when we do our own specific business, we are constantly reminding us that the first one Non-politicization, the second is to market segmentation, one country and one policy, this is what you must do when you want to fall into practice when you do business. Otherwise, nothing can be done. This is a simple answer. This is a very complicated question.

 

Christopher Jeffery：Thank you very much for sharing your opinion with us. I think it makes a lot of sense. In fact, I still have a lot of problems.
 

   

Frank Song：Just talking about the cooperation between China, Europe and Britain, I noticed that there are fewer Chinese and English. I simply say that the space for financial cooperation between China and the UK is very large. After the Brexit, there will be an impact on the financial center of London, England. The UK is very concerned about how to further maintain London's status as an international financial center. In fact, it provides many opportunities for China-EU financial cooperation. I think there are at least three aspects, one is the offshore market of the renminbi. In fact, London has been very active in promoting the offshore market of the renminbi. If you compare with New York, although New York is the world's largest international financial center, it is not positive about the internationalization of the renminbi. I don't know why, but the UK has always been very active. The renminbi will definitely become an international currency, just a matter of time. Therefore, the UK and London are very strategic, so the offshore RMB center can be further deepened. Now it is already the second largest RMB market, and Hong Kong is the first.

 

The second, the Shanghai-London, Shanghai and London bonds are being explored, and there may be a pass on the stock. Because it is based on the more important aspects of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Shanghai, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Shanghai-Hong Kong. This is a brand new thinking. It is said that the financial center is not necessarily completely competitive, but it can also cooperate. Therefore, the space for cooperation between China and the UK is huge. If China and the UK join forces, this space is very huge.

 

The third piece of cooperation, just a few of the financial technology that has been talked about. London has always been at the forefront of financial technology. The so-called sandbox aspect of financial supervision and technology supervision is ahead. In fact, China is very lacking in this respect. Although China has a very tolerant attitude towards the development of financial technology, it does not have a clear idea. I will add it.

 

Ben Shenglin：One of our projects is supported by FCU. We are working with their team to see how the cooperation is in the regulatory system. This is very timely.

 

Christopher Jeffery：This makes a lot of sense. London is indeed very open in these business cooperation. I think that in such an case, it is indeed worthwhile to think specifically in the future, thank you very much for your supplement. There is really no mention of London in our discussion, this is not for you. I hope that everyone can applaud all our speakers because they have brought us very meaningful opinions, thank you very much.