The HKIMR Fourteenth Annual International Conference on the Chinese Economy “China and the Changing Global Trade Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities”


14 - 15 October 2024


 

On 14 – 15 October 2024, the HKIMR hosted the Fourteenth Annual International Conference on the Chinese Economy, titled “China and the Changing Global Trade Landscape: Challenges and Opportunities”.

The full conference programme can be found here.

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Eddie Yue (8th from the left), Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Darryl Chan (5th from the left), Deputy Chief Executive of the HKMA, Enoch Fung (4th from the left), Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hong Kong Academy of Finance (AoF) and Executive Director of HKIMR, Prof. Shang-Jin Wei (7th from the left), other speakers, panellists, discussants and moderators for the conference.

In his welcoming remarks, Enoch Fung, CEO of AoF and Executive Director of HKIMR, noted that for more than 14 years, the HKIMR flagship Annual China conference has brought together top minds to discuss the most topical issues facing the Chinese economy. This year’s conference coincides with the 25th Anniversary of the HKIMR.

He was delighted to see speakers and participants from US, Europe, the Middle East, and across Southeast Asia, attended the conference in person, which underscores the importance of international collaboration in addressing the challenges we face in the global economy.

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Enoch Fung, CEO of AoF and Executive Director of HKIMR

In his opening remarks, Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the HKMA, pointed out the importance of adapting to the changes and rising to the challenges brought by the evolving global trading system, and highlighted the opportunities for growth and cooperation in areas like digital trade transformation, innovative trade finance, and sustainable trade and investment. 

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Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of HKMA

Shang-Jin Wei, Chair Professor of Chinese Business and Economy of Columbia University, delivered a keynote speech on “Assessing the US and China’s Industrial Policies”. He pointed out that industrial policies were not new in either US or China. They are easier to justify but harder to get them right. If they work in one country, that does not mean they work in other countries.

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Shang-Jin Wei, Chair Professor of Chinese Business and Economy of Columbia University

A panel session of market economists on China Tao Wang, Haibin Zhu, Hui Shan and Wenlang Zhang discussed the latest developments and outlook of China’s international trade, domestic demand, the local government debt issue, and the property market.

Panel Discussion: Recent Developments and Outlook of the Chinese EconomyPhoto 5
(from left to right)

Moderator: Hongyi Chen of HKIMR
Panellists: Tao Wang of UBS, Haibin Zhu of JPMorgan Chase Bank, Hui Shan of Goldman Sachs and Wenlang Zhang of CICC

In addition, four high quality research papers on “Supply Chain Realignment and China’s Export” and “China’s Overseas Investment and Bank Lending” were presented in the conference.

Supply Chain Realignment and China’s Export
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(from left to right)

Moderator: Michael Cheng of HKMA
Presenter: Han Qiu of Bank for International Settlements
Discussant: Alicia García-Herrero of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

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(from left to right)

Moderator: Michael Cheng of HKMA
Presenter: Jiafu Wang of HKMA
Discussant: Goohoon Kwon of Goldman Sachs

China’s Overseas Investment and Bank Lending
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(from left to right)

Moderator: Philip Wooldridge of Bank for International Settlements
Presenter: Rong Cai of Peking University HSBC Business School
Discussant: Alfred Schipke of National University of Singapore

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(from left to right)

Moderator: Philip Wooldridge of Bank for International Settlements
Presenter: Eugenio Cerutti of International Monetary Fund
Discussant: Dora Xia of Bank for International Settlements

On 15 October 2024, the HKIMR co-hosted two panel discussions on digital trade transformation and innovative trade finance respectively at its Fourteenth Annual International Conference on the Chinese Economy, with Asia Global Institute (AGI) and the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI).

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Enoch Fung (5th from the left), CEO of AoF and Executive Director of HKIMR,
Prof. Heiwai Tang (6th from the left), Director of AGI, Peter Morgan (4th from the left), Senior Advisor of ADBI, other speakers, panellists and moderators for the conference

Prof. Heiwai Tang, Director of AGI, highlighted the importance of digital trade in his opening remarks. To leverage Hong Kong’s comparative advantage, he thought it is crucial for Hong Kong to take a proactive approach on establishing digital trade agreements and enhance international cooperation.

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Heiwai Tang, Director of AGI

First session on digital trade transformation was moderated by Heiwai Tang with three distinguished speakers Irina Fan, Jianguang Shen and Pamela Mar. The panel pointed out that e-commerce plays a vital role for SMEs to reach out to global customers.  With Mainland China and ASEAN markets presenting significant opportunities for cross-border e-commerce in the region, the application of stablecoins and decentralised finance can help further enhance efficiencies in cross-border digital trade payment and settlement, which in turn could bring benefits in time, cost and competitiveness when it comes to digital trade. As a leading international trade and logistic hub, Hong Kong is well positioned to grab these opportunities.

Panel Discussion on Digital Trade TransformationPhoto 12
(from left to right)

Moderator: Heiwai Tang of AGI
Panellists: Irina Fan of Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Jianguang Shen of JD.com and Pamela Mar of AGI

The second session on innovative trade finance was moderated by Peter Morgan from ADBI with three leading experts Cyn-Young Park, Vu Hoang Nam and Venkatraman Panchapakesan.  The panel exchanged views on the challenges facing emerging market economies in accessing trade finance via traditional means in the current geo-economic environment.  The panel then discussed how digitalisation in trade finance can help address the widening global trade finance gap with transformations in business models and innovative approaches to e-commerce trade finance.

Panel Discussion on Innovative Trade FinancePhoto 13
(from left to right)

Moderator: Peter Morgan of ADBI
Panellists: Cyn-Young Park of The SEACEN Center, Vu Hoang Nam of Vietnam Foreign Trade University and Venkatraman Panchapakesan of HSBC

The conference attracted more than 150 participants in person from central banks, private sector, academia and international financial institutions.

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Last revision date: 28 October 2024