Shanghai Mayor Gong Zheng held a meeting with a delegation led by the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Nicolas Lyons, on Friday, as both cities seek to reinforce their
financial ties.
Gong highlighted the longstanding friendly exchanges between Shanghai and the City of London, dating back to 1996. Over the years, they have developed a close and cooperative exchange mechanism, particularly in the fields of finance and investment services, which has yielded positive outcomes.
The City of London stands as a global powerhouse in finance, commerce, and economics, while Shanghai ranks as China's largest economic hub, with finance being a pivotal component of its identity. Shanghai is actively working towards becoming a world-class international financial center.
Expressing their willingness to strengthen collaboration, Shanghai and the City of London are eyeing opportunities in asset management, green finance, financial technology, and financial openness. They aim to draw inspiration from advanced concepts, fostering mutually beneficial and win-win development.
Shanghai warmly welcomes British financial institutions to expand their presence in the city, and together, they intend to optimize financial services, enhance financial efficiency, ensure financial security, support green and low-carbon transformation, facilitate cross-border investment and financing, and streamline cross-border investment processes.
Lyons emphasized that finance remains the core competitive advantage of London. He expressed satisfaction with the growing presence of Chinese financial institutions conducting business in London. Shanghai's remarkable economic growth aligns well with the City of London's strengths, especially in the context of the Shanghai international financial center's development.
Recognizing their shared interests and significant cooperation potential, the City of London aims to collaborate closely with Shanghai in the realms of green finance and sustainable finance. They also intend to jointly drive innovation in financial technology, deepen the Shanghai-London Stock Connect mechanism, and work together to enhance financial accessibility and openness. Photo by Stefan Fussan, Wikimedia commons.