The Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2024 was held in Beijing on October 18, co-hosted by Beijing Municipal Government, People’s Bank of China, National Financial Regulatory Administration, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Xinhua News Agency, and State Administration of Foreign Exchange. China Investment Corporation (CIC) co-hosted a parallel forum with China Galaxy Securities on “China-Southeast Asia Cross-Border Investment and Industrial Cooperation for High-Quality Development”.

Mr. SUN Shuo, Deputy Mayor of Beijing, delivered the opening speech of the parallel forum. He observed that economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN has been continuously deepening, marking the most successful and dynamic model in Asia-Pacific regional cooperation in recent years. Beijing actively facilitates practical cooperation between China and Southeast Asian countries and strengthens exchanges and cooperation through platforms such as the Financial Street Forum and the China International Fair for Trade in Services. He encouraged guests to pay attention to Beijing’s progress in technology innovation and financial development, and to share in the development opportunities. Moving forward, Beijing will further optimize its open environment, deepen reforms in foreign investment and trade management, enhance international service levels, and create a better business environment and service platform. Beijing will work hand in hand with more international partners to create a new situation of win-win cooperation.

Mr. LIU Haoling, President of CIC, said that China remains committed to the basic national policy of opening-up to the outside world, and is establishing a new system for higher-level open economy. China and Southeast Asian countries have close economic and trade ties, and the cooperation and development of the regional economy in the new era are important bilateral opportunities and will also benefit the world economy. Southeast Asia has always been one of CIC’s key investment destinations. CIC has made its investments in projects in the field of connectivity, healthcare, and clean energy, while maintaining strong partnerships with key regional investment institutions. CIC is committed to deepening collaboration with Southeast Asian counterparts, seizing favorable opportunities, leveraging respective strengths, and innovating cooperative models to translate trust and confidence into practical outcomes for financial cooperation and shared economic development.

During the keynote address session, Mr. REN Hongbin, Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), said that in recent years, China and Southeast Asian countries have achieved fruitful results in economic and trade cooperation under Belt and Road cooperation. CCPIT plays a unique role in connecting government and enterprises, facilitating internal and external communication, and promoting supply-demand dynamics in China-Southeast Asia economic cooperation. He suggested further consolidating business efforts to better stimulate the vitality and potential of China- Southeast Asia trade and investment, building open platforms to enhance the connectivity and resilience of the China-Southeast Asia industrial and supply chains, and deepening financial cooperation to support high-quality regional economic development.

Mr. LIN Jingzhen, Executive Director and Executive Vice President of Bank of China, noted that Southeast Asia is emerging as a key destination for Chinese investment, offering a wide range of opportunities across various sectors. There are promising opportunities for investment and industrial cooperation between China and Southeast Asian countries. Bank of China has always attached great importance to serving the Southeast Asian market, establishing branches in all 10 ASEAN countries to support high-quality financial services for bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation. To further deepen practical cooperation between China and Southeast Asia, it is recommended to strengthen the government-enterprise-bank cooperation ecosystem, actively develop the digital economy industry to build new bridges for cross-border investment cooperation, and steadily advance the internationalization of the RMB.

Mr. WANG Sheng, Chairman of China Galaxy Securities, said that China and ASEAN have become the most dynamic model in Asia-Pacific regional cooperation. As China transitions towards high-quality development, Chinese enterprises are entering a new phase of global supply chain and market expansion. With its unique geographic advantages and market potential, ASEAN has become the preferred destination for Chinese companies’ overseas expansion, with frameworks like the Belt and Road Initiative providing institutional guarantees and cooperation platforms. Galaxy Securities will continue to bridge cross-border investment cooperation between China and ASEAN, facilitating high-level outbound investment and high-quality inbound investment.

Senior executives from Southeast Asian sovereign wealth funds, including the Chief Investment Officer of the Indonesia Investment Authority (INA) and the Chief Investment Officer of Khazanah, focused on “Deepening China-Southeast Asia Cross-border Investment Cooperation” and “Assisting Chinese and Southeast Asian Enterprises to Strengthen Industrial Cooperation” exchanged opinions and suggestions. The guests agreed that amidst profound global economy changes, the close cooperation between China and Southeast Asia has bolstered regional economic resilience, and there is a broad prospect for future cooperation in areas such as sustainable development, health care, digitalization, transportation, and logistics.

During the roundtable discussion, global executives from China Galaxy Securities International, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Alpha JWC Ventures, GL Capital Group, Khazanah, BMS Group, and J&T Express conducted in-depth discussions on topics such as “China and Southeast Asian market investment opportunities”“Finance assists regional investment cooperation”and “Chinese and Southeast Asian enterprises expansion in regional markets.” The guests stated that Southeast Asia is rapidly developing in sectors such as consumption, digital economy, health care, new energy, semiconductors, and logistics, presenting abundant investment opportunities and potential for industrial cooperation. Chinese enterprises and institutions should leverage the comparative advantages of different countries and markets when expanding into Southeast Asia. They should build mutual trust, boost confidence in cooperation, innovate investment approaches, and deepen the synergy between industry and finance. This strategy will foster mutual investment, enhance international industrial collaboration, and create a win-win mechanism. The financial industry plays a crucial role in financing and investment, fostering industry collaboration, facilitating information exchange, and supporting project incubation throughout this process.

The parallel forum was attended by senior executives of CIC Group companies and representatives from relevant government departments, business associations, leading global investors, and industry enterprises.