On May 27-28, 2024, the event "80 Years after Bretton Woods: Building an International Monetary and Financial System for All" and the 2024 Tsinghua PBCSF Global Finance Forum were successfully convened in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. The afternoon of May 27th marked the successful execution of Plenary Session III, titled "Digital Finance Assisting the National Financial Development." Keynote speeches were delivered by Zhang Jianhua, Director of the Research Center for Financial Development and Regtech at Tsinghua PBCSF, and Lv Weiyan, Co-CEO of Lianlian Global. Comments were provided by Huang Haizhou, Special-Term Professor at Tsinghua PBCSF and Member of PBoC Monetary Policy Committee, while Wang Zhengwei, Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Tsinghua PBCSF, moderated the session.
The picture shows Jianhua Zhang delivering a keynote speech
Zhang Jianhua presented a keynote on "Construction and Improvement of Digital Financial Infrastructure", emphasizing the pivotal role of digital financial infrastructure in enabling a comprehensive digital transformation within the financial sector. He asserted that digital finance is foundational, integrating into the digitization of various sectors including industry, economy, and society. To bridge the digital divide between small and large financial institutions, it is crucial to establish robust financial infrastructure. Financial infrastructure encompasses both the hardware facilities and institutional arrangements necessary for financial operations, including payment and clearing networks, trading venues, and transaction clearing organizations, as well as regulatory, accounting, and legal frameworks. Zhang Jianhua advocated for the creation of a data element platform, consolidation of the data foundation system, and acceleration of digital transformation in justice.
The picture shows Haizhou Huang providing commentary
Huang Haizhou then shared his insights, focusing on three aspects: the necessity of developing digital finance, its prominence at the corporate level, and the future outlook of digital finance. He highlighted that digital finance serves as an important starting point for modern economic innovation, though its academic definition requires further clarification. At the corporate level, companies like Paypal and Citadel Securities are becoming significant competitors to traditional financial institutions, with China's advanced digital financial enterprises also experiencing rapid growth. Looking ahead, Huang Haizhou pointed to Digital SDR (Special Drawing Rights) as a major future concern for digital finance, noting its vast potential in the era of digital currency.
The picture shows Lv Weiyan delivering a keynote speech
Lv Weiyan's keynote on "Digital Intelligent Payment Helps China's Trade Development" underscored the stability of the global trade market and China's critical role within it. He noted China's competitive edge due to its long-term commitment to infrastructure development, which has resulted in competitive industrial electricity prices and lending rates. Furthermore, China's unmatched supply chain clustering advantage is bolstered by its complete industrial chain and supporting facilities across major regions. Lv Weiyan posited that digital trade, facilitated by Digital Intelligent Payment, is crucial for maintaining China's position in global commerce. This system ensures efficient operation of trade links by integrating capital flow, information flow, and logistics across the cross-border trade chain, leveraging China's systematic advantages in terms of cost, production capacity, and talent to promote the win-win sharing of global trade.
The picture shows Zhengwei Wang hosting the forum
Wang Zhengwei concluded the forum, remarking that digital finance, as one of the prominent topics in the field of new finance, is not only a focal point but also a crucial direction for financial innovation and future development.
