The Belt and Road Financial Research Institute (Shanghai) of China Eximbank and the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (SIIS) jointly held a forum themed “New Pattern, New Stage and New Regional Development -- the Yangtze River Delta in the High-quality Belt and Road Development” on 9 December. Aiming to implement the proposals made by President Xi Jinping in his important speech at the Yangtze River Delta Integrated Development Symposium, this forum conducted an in-depth discussion and study of the function innovation of the Yangtze River Delta under the new development paradigm of "dual circulations". Wu Fulin, President of China Eximbank, Zhou Hanmin, Vice chairman of CPPCC Shanghai Committee, and Chen Mingbo, Deputy Secretary General of the Shanghai Municipal Government addressed the forum or made keynote speeches. Over 80 experts from governments, academia, enterprises and banks attended the forum.

　　At the opening ceremony, President Wu Fulin elaborated on the Belt and Road construction and the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta under the new development paradigm. He pointed out that to build a “dual circulation” economy, we must work harder to hammer inner strength firm while embracing the outside world better. As one of the regions with the strongest economic development momentum, the highest level of opening-up, and the best conditions for innovation in China, the Yangtze River Delta would definitely become the "strategic foundation" for China's economy under the drastic changing background brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. Taking a key position in both Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and a number of major national strategies, the Yangtze River Delta region would be bound to contribute more to advancing the internal and external coordination to a higher level and the “going-global” endeavor with higher quality, and promoting the building of the Belt and Road to a more in-depth and practical level.

　　Well-known experts including Zhang Yuyan, member of the Acedemic Committee of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Yang Jiemian, Chairman of the Academic Affairs Council of Shanghai Institute for International Studies (SIIS) and Zhang Jun, Dean of School of Economics, Fudan University shared their views on the general development trend of China and the world, and the coordinated development of BRI and Yangtze River Delta integration in the new stage and under the new circumstances. During this forum, participants also delved into two major topics, “New Trend of China's Participation in the Regional Economic Cooperation under the New Development Paradigm” and “New Achievements of the Yangtze River Delta in the High-quality Belt and Road Development”.

　　China Eximbank is committed to supporting China's foreign trade, investment and international economic cooperation. In implementing national policies, it has given high priority to facilitating the steady and long-term development of BRI and the high-quality integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta. In the years to come, the Bank will follow the trend of “dual circulations” to further support Chinese enterprises’ foreign trade and investment. It will also further integrate bankwide resources and optimize marketing system to better collaborate with the Yangtze River Delta to serve the BRI.