On November 26th, the “Belt and Road Initiative and Green Finance Development Forum” was held in London, England. The event was hosted by the Beijing Reignwood Cultural Foundation and the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI). The guests exchanged ideas on the Belt and Road Initiative cooperation, green development concept, and the introduction of green finance.
Chen Yuan, Vice Chairman of the 12th National Committee of the CPPCC and Chairman of the Silk Road Research Plan Center, Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador to the UK, Mr. Yanbin, Chairman of Reignwood Group, Lord Sassoon, Chairman of the China-Britain Business Council, Sir Douglas, British Government's "One Belt, One Road" Special Envoy, Sean Kidney, CEO of Climate Bonds Initiative, Gerry Grimsone, Chairman of Barclays Bank and other guests attended the forum.
At the conference, Chen Yuan emphasized that green development has become one of China's five new development concepts. He said that while pushing forward the “Belt and Road” Initiative. We must not only push forward green and ecological development, but also incorporate the concept of sustainable development of green, low-carbon and recycling into the whole process of construction and various projects of the initiative, thus forming a win-win situation where belt and road initiative construction and green development can reinforce each other.
Mr. Liu Xiaoming pointed in his speech that China-UK cooperation on green finance can deliver benefits in three aspects. First, it reinforces existing mechanisms of China-UK cooperation on financial services. Second, China-UK cooperation on green finance creates huge opportunities for building a green Belt and Road. Third, China-UK cooperation on green finance along the Belt and Road leads and promotes global cooperation in green development.
Lord Sassoon pointed in his speech that to realize the goal of building a green silk road proposed by President Xi Jinping, we should not only establish and improve the green standard, but also need to launch close cooperation among countries. Sir Douglas suggested that belt and road initiative could combine with the sustainable development goal of the United Nations to achieve the biggest benefit. Sean Kidney said that there is much cooperation between CBI and China’s green development and the world needs China’s force.
As a multinational enterprise, Reignwood Group has taken initiatives to push forward belt and road green development. In 2010, it purchased the iconic landmark building Ten Trinity Square in London, UK. After seven years of renovation, the building has regained its past glory. The Four Seasons Hotel at Ten Trinity Square is the first Chinese invested hotel that has won nine British Hotel awards. In 2017, the first Multilateral Cooperation Seminar on Green Finance was jointly hosted by Beijing Reignwood Culture Foundation and Sino-European Entrepreneurs Association, and topics include green finance and Chinese economic restructuring were discussed at the seminar. In March, 2018, China-UK Green Finance Centre Strategic Cooperation Launch was held at Beijing Reignwood Center and in September, Chairman Yan attended the 5th anniversary of Belt and Road Initiative and gave his suggestions on how to better leverage Hong Kong’s advantages to serve the belt and road initiative.