At Huawei's Songshan Lake campus, delegates were welcomed by Jason Cao, CEO of Huawei Digital Finance, who highlighted how external disruption had accelerated innovation in both banking and technology. Just as Chinese banks were forced to modernise in response to the rapid rise of mobile payments, Huawei had to develop its own chipsets, operating systems and software to ensure continuity of supply. Both cases, he noted, underscored the importance of resilience, diversification and investment in technology to remain competitive in a changing market. He outlined the company's strategy as a technology partner to the global financial industry. He detailed Huawei’s investment in information and communications infrastructure, cloud computing and artificial intelligence to support the transformation of banks and financial institutions. Huawei’s private cloud and data warehousing solutions are already deployed by more than half of China’s leading banks. These platforms underpin core banking modernisation, AI-driven risk control and personalised customer engagement, while meeting regulatory requirements. Cao also shared examples of Huawei’s international projects. In Southeast Asia, Huawei is supporting AI-powered contact centres and risk management platforms for banks. In Africa, it has partnered with national institutions to strengthen the resilience of payment systems. Such initiatives, he said, reflect Huawei’s role in providing end-to-end, scalable digital solutions for financial services. The day concluded with a session led by John Gong, professor of economics at University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, who examined China’s economic trajectory within a shifting global landscape. He noted the trend towards a more multipolar world order, the evolution of United States foreign policy and the growing influence of emerging economies on trade and investment flows. Gong emphasised that China remains a leading trading partner across multiple regions and is pursuing strategies to sustain growth through domestic consumption and innovation. These developments, he said, carry important implications for international financial institutions engaging with China. The visit to Huawei brought together two recurring themes from the study tour, the role of technology in reshaping financial services, imperative of leaders to reimagine the future of innovation and the need for resilience in a volatile global environment. Over five days, the tour took delegates through Shanghai, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Dongguan, offering insights into China’s innovation ecosystem. It concluded with perspectives from industry and academia on how global trends and technological advances are set to influence the future of finance.
