China-ASEAN financial cooperation to provide stronger support for bilateral real economy, expert

Photo shows Fan Zuojun, professor and vice principal of Guangxi University, released the report named China-ASEAN financial cooperation: structure-based entry and system connection on a sub-forum of the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Connectivity Initiative Financial Summit 2021 on Nov. 24, 2021.

BEIJING, Nov.26 (Xinhua) -- With the establishment of China-ASEAN comprehensive strategic partnership and the expectable implementation of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, China and ASEAN countries are embracing significant opportunities for cooperation and finance plays an indispensable role in it, Fan Zuojun, professor and vice principal of Guangxi University, told Xinhua in an interview held in this week.

When talking about the specific direction of China-ASEAN financial cooperation, Fan believes that modern financial technologies such as block chain, cloud computing and big data should be flexibly used to strengthen the construction of cross-border credit investigation platform system.

According to Fan, the continuous development and innovation of financial technology provides great convenience to cross-border financial cooperation. Cross-border credit investigation platform construction can apply new financial technology to expand credit information sources, including the consumption behavior and transaction data of each economic subject, so as to provide accurate reference information for China and ASEAN financial institutions to carry out business.

On the other hand, cross-border credit investigation platform construction can create a credit rating system suitable for the China-ASEAN region to better support enterprises' investment and financing and other businesses involving financial cooperation.

Notably, Fan stressed the need to strengthen financial regulatory cooperation between China and ASEAN.

Firstly, construction of bilateral financial infrastructure needs to be strengthened and differences in financial systems between countries shall be reduced. These require sound communication over respective policies between the two sides, reduction of policy restrictions on financial market access and business operation, and emphasis on common but different regulatory policies in the region. 

Secondly, a unified financial supervision organization within the region shall be established to strictly regulate the behavior of various financial market entities and provide strong institutional guarantee, according to Fan.

Generally speaking, Fan believes that with more active economic and trade exchanges between China and ASEAN members, financial cooperation between China and ASEAN will make greater progress and will provide more support for real economy of each side.