Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit took place in Hong Kong from Nov. 3 to Nov. 5, entering its second-day session on Nov. 4. Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, delivered a video speech reaffirming the central government's support for consolidating and enhancing HK's status as an international financial, shipping, and trade center. He also encouraged HK to proactively align with the national development plan and deepen economic and financial cooperation with the Mainland during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
Senior officials from the three main financial regulatory authorities in the Mainland further elaborated on the pathways for cooperation with HK in finance and capital markets during the 15th Five-Year Plan period at the summit. The event brought together over 300 influential figures from the global financial sectors, including more than 100 top-level executives, such as chairs and CEOs of financial institutions.
He: HK must align with the country's 15th Five-Year Plan to consolidate its status as an international financial hub
He Lifeng pointed out that HK needs to proactively align with the national development plan during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, deepen economic and financial cooperation with the Mainland, consolidate and enhance its status as an international financial, shipping, and trade centre, and accelerate the development as an international innovation and technology hub.
He stated that President Xi Jinping has always been deeply concerned about HK's development and emphasized that the practice of "one country, two systems" has entered a new phase. He expressed high hopes for HK to fully focus on economic growth, pursue development, and create new achievements. He also highly commended the HKSAR Government for implementing President Xi's earnest instructions and achieving significant results in improving the economy and enhancing people's livelihoods with the support of the central government.
Reflecting on the past, he mentioned that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, with the central government's support, HK gave full play to its unique advantage of "enjoying strong support of the Motherland and being closely connected to the world." This enabled HK to make unique and important contributions to national reform and development, while also achieving and consolidating its own stable development.
The "15th Five-Year Plan" proposals, approved at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, specifically made significant arrangements to support HK's development, outlining a brighter future for the city. HK is poised to embrace new and significant development opportunities.
Addressing the global economic situation, He stressed that the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, and the international situation is chaotic and intertwined. The Global Governance Initiative (GGI), proposed by President Xi at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in September this year, provides guidance and impetus for building a more just and equitable global governance system. Financial governance is an important component of global governance, and conducting in-depth studies to advance orderly reforms in global financial governance is an essential part of implementing the GGI.
He expressed the hope that HK could better play its role as a "bridge," "hub," and "window," actively participate in the research and practice of global financial governance, and promote continuous new progress in global financial governance reform.
Three major mainland financial departments detail pathways for cooperation with HK in the 15th Five-Year Plan period
Following the summit, HK Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said to the media that a highlight of the summit was He's video speech and the presence of senior leaders from the three central financial regulatory departments, who personally explained relevant policies.
Lu Lei, Deputy Governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), stated at the summit that, as the central bank, consolidating and enhancing HK's status as an international financial centre and promoting its greater role in the nation's overall financial reform and opening-up is an important task for the PBOC.
He said that in recent years, the PBOC has fully supported the development of HK as an international financial centre, making continuous efforts in deepening the connectivity of financial markets and services between the two places and strengthening the offshore renminbi market, with positive results achieved. In the future, the PBOC will fully support the development and construction of HK's international financial centre in all aspects.
Zhou Liang, Vice Minister of National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), mentioned in his speech that the capital markets in the Mainland and HK are performing strongly. He noted that trust, wealth management, and insurance asset management institutions have reached a total managed asset scale of RMB 100 trillion. Looking ahead, the NFRA will continue to deepen financial cooperation between the Mainland and HK, promote HK's full integration into the national development framework, and leverage HK's advantages to further consolidate and enhance its status as an international financial center.
Regarding the capital market, Li Ming, Vice Chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), revealed that the CSRC is systematically planning to introduce more forceful opening-up measures. Firstly, the CSRC will substantially enhance the stability, transparency, and predictability of policies, continuously strengthen regular communication with international investors, and accelerate the implementation and effectiveness of various policy measures. Simultaneously, it will further deepen cooperation between the mainland and HK capital markets.
On the issue of risk prevention, Li emphasized the need to strengthen regulatory capabilities and risk prevention measures in an open environment. "We will balance development and security, deepen cross-boundary regulatory and enforcement cooperation with organizations such as the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission, and enhance monitoring of cross-boundary capital flows and risk management. This includes promoting information-sharing, mutual policy discussions, and regulatory coordination to prevent cross-boundary transmission and resonance of risks. Together, we will advance global capital market governance reforms, making capital markets more equitable, inclusive, resilient, and fair."
Global Financial Leaders' Investment Summit: Discussing opportunities and challenges amid global economic shifts
At a critical juncture of dramatic shifts in the global economic landscape, HK, as "Asia's leading free economy," demonstrated its irreplaceable strategic value to the international financial community. Chief Executive John Lee and Financial Secretary Paul Chan jointly emphasized at the summit that HK is advancing boldly through regional integration, technological innovation, and capital flows, playing the dual roles of a "super connector" and a "super value-adder." They stressed that HK offers global investors a solid foundation of "certainty and opportunities."
Lee shared his recent experiences as an example, where he represented HK as an APEC member at a conference in South Korea before heading to Shanghai to attend the China International Import Expo, leading 380 HK enterprises to promote their brands. He highlighted the newly established "GoGlobal Task Force," which is designed to assist mainland companies in connecting with global markets, exemplifying HK's function as a two-way platform.
Additionally, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) recently announced plans to set up an office in HK. Lee stated that as an AIIB member, HK will fully support the establishment of this office. Leveraging its vibrant capital markets, world-class professional services, and diverse financial products, HK will assist the AIIB in project financing, bond issuance, and investment management, further enhancing HK's global financial synergy.
Meanwhile, international executives have been closely studying mainland policies. This year's summit gathered over 300 heavyweight figures from the global financial sector. These leaders shared key insights on market prospects, regional opportunities, and macroeconomic challenges.
On markets and investments, Goldman Sachs observed that global capital interest in the Chinese market is expected to continue rising. Capital Group and Morgan Stanley, however, cautioned that despite strong corporate earnings, current high asset valuations could lead to market corrections. Regarding regional development, both Bank of China and HSBC expressed optimism about the opportunities in Asia, with HK serving as a central hub. HSBC further highlighted that the "Asia buys Asia" model will significantly boost regional GDP.
On regulation and financial structures, UBS called for resolving global regulatory inconsistencies to unlock credit flows, while Standard Chartered predicted that currencies would become fully digitized, emphasizing the need to build infrastructure aligned with this transformation. In the field of frontier technologies, General Atlantic advocated for long-term investments in AI, likening its potential to the early days of the internet.
Eddie Yue Wai-man, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, delivered the closing remarks at yesterday's summit. He announced that next year's financial summit has already been scheduled, with the main event set for Nov. 3, 2026. As per tradition, a welcome dinner will be held the evening prior, on Nov. 2. Yue extended a heartfelt invitation to all guests to mark their calendars and reconvene in HK next year.
(Source: Wen Wei Po; English Intern Editor: Yuki; English Editor: Zoey SUN)
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