On December 13th, 2020, Shanghai Finance Forum 2020 and a press conference on the "Evaluation and Prospect of Shanghai as an International Financial Center" were successfully held in Shanghai. Both were jointly organized by Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF) at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the National Institution for Finance and Development (NIFD). The events were co-sponsored by the China Financial Information Center, the Shanghai Finance Institute, and the Shanghai Putuo District People's Government (with the support of the Global Financial Leaders Forum).
With the COVID-19 outbreak, global political and economic structures have been altered at an accelerated pace, and the traditional financial system is facing challenges. Innovations and changes are imminent. At a time when China is ushering in the end of the 13th Five-Year, Shanghai Finance Forum 2020 (with the theme of "Reform and Opening-up: Shanghai as an International Financial Center in the age of Dual Circulation Economy") facilitated dialogue at multiple levels and in multiple fields.
Dozens of notable guests at home and abroad gathered to explore and forecast global financial and economic trends and contribute their expertise, including: Xiaochuan Zhou, President of China Society for Finance and former Governor of the People's Bank of China; Mervyn King, Alan Greenspan Professor of Economics at New York University and former Governor of the Bank of England; Raghuram Rajan, Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the Booth School at the University of Chicago and former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India; Guangshao Tu, Adjunct Professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Executive Director of SAIF; Yang Li, Chairman of the National Institution for Finance and Development, Chief Expert and Chairman of the Academic Committee of Shanghai Institution for Finance and Development and Adjunct Professor of SAIF; and Howard Marks, Founder and Co-Chairman of Oaktree Capital Group, etc.
The international and domestic economy (and society itself) are being greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.. To this end, focusing on the theme of "Global Economy and Finance under COVID-19", Xiaochuan Zhou, Mervyn King, and Raghuram Rajan (who visited Shanghai Finance Forum for the 2nd time), delivered opening speeches. Their presentations discussed trends and solutions for international economy and finance; these included: "IT Development Drives the Modernization of Smart Systems and Facilitation of Cross-border Payments", "Global Economic Recovery after COVID-19", and "Impact of Loose Monetary and Fiscal Policies on Today’s Global Economy".
As a major component of this Forum, Prof Guangshao Tu and Professor Yang Li jointly released "Evaluation and Prospect of Shanghai as an International Financial Center", which was co-authored by SAIF, the National Institution of Finance and Development, and Shanghai Finance Institute.
The report presents advice on the new development landscape for Shanghai as an international financial center. The report emphasizes that it is important to improve and optimize financial systems and structures in China. Second, it is essential to speed up the consolidation of Shanghai’s position among worldwide RMB asset centers and to drive RMB internationalization. Shanghai will play a greater role in supporting the effective allocation of domestic and international financial resources. In addition, the report also puts forward the long-term goal of Shanghai as an international financial center. That is, by 2035, Shanghai will become a global financial center based in the Asia Pacific region, centered as an open and modern financial market, marked as a global RMB asset allocation center, and comparable to London and New York.
