Shanghai Officials Host First-Ever Shanghai Financial Innovation Forum in New York

NEW YORK, Oct. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Shanghai Municipal Financial Services Office and the Information Office of Shanghai Municipality hosted the first-ever Shanghai Financial Innovation Forum in New York City, which convened global financial leaders to celebrate Shanghai's third anniversary as a free trade zone and hold a broad discussion on China's national strategy to strengthen Shanghai's position as a hub for financial innovation.

During his remarks, Wang Xinkui, Chairman and President, Shanghai WTO reflected on the current economic situation, "China has been striving to cope with the challenges presented by the new stage of economic globalization," and reaffirmed Shanghai's commitment to free trade as part of the solution to slowing economic growth. "The government's regulation regime for foreign investment will be reformed and trade facilitation shall be improved."

Despite a general economic downturn, Shanghai has continued to enjoy steady growth in its financial services sector. In 2015, the sector was the city's largest economic driver with a 52% year-over-year increase. Many analysts attribute this resilience and growth to the trade and investment policies Shanghai has in place as a Pilot Free Trade Zone.

Eswar Prasad, Senior Professor of Trade Policy at Cornell University and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, also a former Chief of the Financial Studies Division in the International Monetary Fund's Research Department and the head of the IMF's China division delivered a keynote on the current state of Shanghai as it celebrates three years of free trade, and discussed the city's current economic progress as well as the positive impacts of reducing barriers to innovation. He also addressed the potential domestic and global impacts of the internationalization of China's currency, the renminbi (RMB), also the topic of his new book "Gaining Currency: The Rise of the Renminbi."

Zhang Meifang, The Deputy Consul General of the People's Republic of China joined Jan Berris, Vice President of the National Committee on United States-China Relations along with leading economists and trade experts from U.S. and China to address global market challenges and examine future opportunities for expansion and cooperation between both nations' financial sectors.

Several notable specialists and authorities also attended the Forum to share ideas and recommendations for the future of Shanghai, and work toward greater partnership between the world's two largest economies:  

• Jan Berris, Vice President of the National Committee on United States-China Relations
• Zhu Yonglei, Director General of Information Office of Shanghai Municipality
• Wu Jun, Deputy Director of Shanghai Financial Office
• Mr. Xiaojun Huang, Managing Director, Head of Strategy and Research at Bank of China, New York
• Stephanie Wolf, Managing Director, Head of Global PSB, FIG and Canada Sales, GTS, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Shao Yu, Chief Economist, Orient Securities

The Forum was co-organized by Yicai, SCC/WTO, and Sinovision, and was held at the Thomson Reuters building in New York City. Additional informational on the agenda and participants can be found at http://www.reuters.com/brandfeatures/sfif.

About the Shanghai Financial Innovation Forum

The Shanghai Financial Innovation Forum explores the initiatives being adopted by Shanghai leaders as the city continues to infuse innovation into their business sectors, and grow as a global financial hub. This commitment, along with Shanghai's development as a free trade zone, are part of China's national strategy to continue developing Shanghai as a center of global influence that will help support China's ongoing economic transformation.

The Forum brings together government officials, economic and trade experts, as well as investors and stakeholders to celebrate the progress made thus far, discuss the critical issues still plaguing the global economy, and to discuss how to expand cooperation between the China and US financial sectors.

Media Contact:
Wei Zhou | Weiber Consulting | [email protected] | 908.505.5188

SOURCE Shanghai Financial Innovation Forum