The International Finance Forum (IFF) 20th Anniversary and Annual Meeting 2023, Guangzhou, October 28, 2023 (Photo/CGTN)

The International Finance Forum (IFF) 20th Anniversary and Annual Meeting 2023 kicked off on October 28 in China's southern city Guangzhou, with financial leaders from all over the world gathered and urging openness and cooperation.
In the face of global economic challenges, all countries should stick to the right direction of globalization and multilateralism, said Zhou Xiaochuan, IFF co-chairman, when delivering a speech at the meeting.
He called for building an open world economy, in the oppose of protectionism and abusing "national security" excuses to restrict trade and investment.
The global economy has shown resilience, Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in her speech at the meeting. The IMF expects the world to see positive growth, with Asia performing better than other regions and China contributing more than 30 percent to global growth, she outlined.
Despite the fact that geopolitical tensions are increasingly clouding the global trade outlook, the current trade data is relatively good, said Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO is calling for re-globalization and expanding trade integration, she stressed.
John Lee, chief executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), stated that Hong Kong will take a series of measures to actively strengthen and enhance the city's competitiveness as an international financial center.
Hong Kong is the world's largest offshore renminbi (RMB) business center. Lee highlighted that the city will promote the inclusion of RMB counters in the Hong Kong Stock Connect, facilitate RMB-denominated trading of Hong Kong stocks, and diversify the varieties of RMB investment products.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong has made efforts to deepen financial cooperation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), and increase connectivity with the mainland's financial markets, Lee added.
This year's IFF meeting centered on the theme of "New Capital, New Value, New World — Revitalization & Cooperation in a Fragmenting Global Economy" and attracted heads of international organizations, current and former heads of state, executives from world-leading financial institutions and businesses, academics, researchers, and representatives from more than 50 countries and regions.