Beijing, May 20, 2019 - The 4th edition of “South-South Education Program for Economics and Finance " was kicked off at the PBC School of Finance of Tsinghua University. Twenty-one high-level government officials and leaders from the financial institutions of the United Nations and 16 developing countries gathered in Beijing. Wu Xiaoling, Chairwoman of the PBC School of Finance, Tsinghua University; Cai E’Sheng, Chairman of the Finance Center for South-South Cooperation; and Cui Jincai, Chairman of Hongru Financial Education Foundation, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. The opening ceremony was hosted by Wu Zhong, Director-General of the Finance Center for South-South Cooperation.
Wu Xiaoling said in her speech that the purpose of launching the "South-South Education Program for Economics and Finance" is to respond to “South-South cooperation” and to the "Belt and Road Initiative" needs of promoting financial education across the developing countries, and develop financial leaders for South-South countries. Wu Xiaoling shared her view on the role of financial services in facilitating the economic development of China. She said that in the past 40 years of reform and opening up, China had not experienced major systemic shocks. The country’s financial system has benefited from three areas: stable social and macroeconomic environment, utilize incremental reform to promote revolutionary reform and promoting strict regulation with tolerance that supports the financial service industry to maintain its momentum while effectively managing and mitigating risks.
The head of FCSSC welcomed the new students on behalf of the Finance Center for South-South Cooperation. He said interconnection and intercommunication are critical to “One Belt, One Road.” “We should form a global partnership for development and prosperity.” The "South-South Education Program for Economics and Finance" is to encourage mutual understanding, respect, trust, and communication to eliminate misunderstanding. The program also promotes exchanges and cooperation between South-South countries by inviting Chinese scholars and bankers to share China's financial development experience. The program attracted 77 leaders from more than 50 countries in the past three years. A network on WeChat was formed among all the leaders participating in this program, and we welcome new students to join this network.
In the opening ceremony, Cui Jincai had mentioned that students could use the program to broaden their vision, deepen their knowledge, and utilize the development experience of China to develop economic policies of their home countries to promote South-South countries’ development. Cui Jincai added, “The future Hongru Financial Education Foundation will continue to build an international platform for financial education and charity, and work with institutions from the related countries to promote a more balanced global financial system and support sustainable development in developing countries.”
Arnab Kumar Banerji, a member of the Board of Directors of the Qatar Financial Center Authority, spoke as a representative of the participants and expressed his honor and gratitude for coming to this program. He pointed out that, more than half of international trade and commerce now take place among the developing countries according to Bloomberg News, which means developing countries, especially South-South countries, are exposed to more cooperation opportunities in the current era. He said that the participants of the program are deeply impressed by China's tremendous economic development achievements in the past few decades. Therefore they hope to come to China to explore its expertise in sustainable development and economic transformation, then apply these to the real-life practice in their home countries.
In the next seven days of learning and exchange, the participants of the "South-South Education Program for Economics and Finance" will also visit several well-known financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Silk Road Fund, China Exim Bank, and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited (ICBC) to learn about China's “One Belt, One Road” financial policy.
Since 2016, "South-South Education Program for Economics and Finance" has been successfully held for three years. Under the framework of “One Belt, One Road” and “South-South cooperation,” the program will build a bridge for sharing among China, South-South countries, and countries along “One Belt, One Road” to promote development. Up to now, the training program has attracted more than 80 high-level officials, financial institution executives, and representatives of international organizations from more than 60 countries.
South-South Education Program for Economy and Finance Website
