From June 27 to July 6, ZIBS Dean BEN Shenglin was invited to join a business group to Europe led by the Zhejiang Provincial Government. During the visit, ZIBS delegation actively explored chances for international development while visiting universities, enterprises and financial institutions in Frankfurt, Berlin, London, and Geneva.
On June 28, the delegation visited the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse Group, where they had discussions with the leaders and executives on matters of mutual concern. In the afternoon, they engaged in a forum with overseas Chinese, community leaders, and representatives of Chinese-funded institutions in Germany. The panel was attended by over 30 participants, including the Acting Consul General of Chinese Consulate-General in Frankfurt, Chinese community leaders from Zhejiang Province, representatives of Chinese companies operating in Germany, and journalists.
On June 29, the delegation went to Frankfurt School of Finance & Management for a dialog with institution and government leaders as well as representatives from German financial organizations and businesses such as Deutsche Bundesbank, CCB Frankfurt Branch, China International Capital Corporation (Europe) GmbH, and Geely Europe Media GmbH. Institutions and government departments involved in the panels include the Sino-German Center of Finance and Economics, GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit), and Hessen State Government.
During the event, ZIBS Dean BEN Shenglin gave the keynote speech on " Fintech Helps the Development of Sustainability and Financial Centers", focusing on the topics of how fintech can empower the sustainable development of financial centers and facilitate the transition to green finance, and prompted an in-depth discussion with the attendees.
BEN Shenglin highlighted that sustainable development has increasingly become a global concern. Fintech has made it possible for financial centers to incorporate principles of sustainable development into their operations, providing the necessary tools and infrastructure for green finance. BEN elaborated on the positive role of fintech in promoting financial inclusion, enhancing transparency and traceability of sustainable investments, risk management and assessment, fostering renewable energy development, and spearheading the transition to a low-carbon economy. He then went on to discuss ZIBS collaboration with GIZ, and based on the pain points identified in the joint research project " Green Fintech’s Role in Support of Sustainable Development and Financial Center Development", he proposed policy recommendations regarding product features, scale development, incentive regulation, and talent cultivation. Representatives from Zhejiang Rural Commercial United Bank and ZAFT partook in the roundtable discussion.
Subsequently, BEN led a team to BNY Mellon's Frankfurt branch where he attended and presided over the German-Sino Seminar on collaboration between small financial institutions, and a related signing ceremony. The following day, the delegation proceeded to Berlin for a meeting with the German economic and trade delegation led by Michael Schumann, the Chairman of the Board of the German Federal Association for Economic Development and Foreign Trade.
Between July 2 and 5, the delegation visited London and Geneva, engaging with several institutions including Lewis Silkin HR Services, BNY Mellon London branch, London Stock Exchange Group, Nanhua Futures London branch, explored cooperative opportunities with executives from institutions including the China-Britain Artificial Intelligence Association, the University of Cambridge, and Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF). They also attended an event hosted by the Bank of China Geneva branch and visited UBP headquarters, pushing forward the cooperation between Zhejiang Province and UK and Swiss entities in the finance and trade sectors.
This visit to Europe has further strengthened the internationalization strategy of ZIBS. By engaging in comprehensive exchanges with universities and businesses across Europe, ZIBS continues to broaden its field of opportunities for international cooperation.
