The edited transcript of the speech:

Cindy Yu: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to yet another year’s Finance China conference. It gives me great pleasure to invite not just the people in this room, but also the thousands of our viewers outside China to this conference. There are many friends out there who are curious about the sentiments in China’s finance industry, and how we are handling the current challenges facing the industry.

Since 2000, The Asian Banker has contributed to the development of China’s banking industry through our research services, publications and consulting services. We do two things: we tell the Chinese story to the rest of the world, and we share with our Chinese colleagues, friends, and clients global developments and case studies that China can learn from. In a word, to promote information exchange.

This year, despite the downturn in the Chinese economy, there is still much to be done. During this tough period, the Chinese government is strengthening the integrity and resilience of the financial system to ensure the economy recovers strongly, providing social and livelihood protection. Chinese financial institutions are using this period to strengthen the governance, risk management and compliance as well. At this conference, we will focus on topics related to economic development and the potential risks on the financial system. During the review and assessment of awards, we are asked many questions about our award programmes and the basis for our conclusions on which bank is better than the other. As such, our award programmes have to be fair, transparent, and withstand the scrutiny of the industry.

The Chinese banking industry has made great achievements in the digital field in the past decade. The economic downturn has put pressure on many institutions and companies, including the financial service industry. However, “in the midst of every crisis, lies great opportunity”. COVID-19 has accelerated the trend towards digitalisation of financial services, bringing new opportunities and challenges to China’s banking industry. New laws and regulations on data governance and personal privacy protection are put in place, and new business models are required to support these objectives to build a more efficient and secure financial services ecosystem.

The theme of this year’s conference is “Laying the foundations for a sustainable future”. Financial services is a sustainable pillar of the economy. Financial inclusion ensures that credit reaches all levels of society. Green finance has seen remarkable progress since announcing “dual carbon” goals. Environmental, social and governance (ESG) ensures that the finance industry is aligned with the goals of building a sustainable economy for the long term.

The conference gathers a strong panel of both local and foreign economists, scholars and senior bankers to contribute their thoughts on these issues. Please contribute your questions, comments, opinions and feedback actively. We hope this event will provide a platform for communication and we wish you enjoy it to the fullest. Thank you.