In a buzzing London hall on July 10, Chinese Ambassador to the United Kingdom Zheng Zeguang took the podium at the Sino-UK Financial Education Symposium, uniting finance experts, educators and think tanks from both sides to chart a path for deeper collaboration.
Joining Ambassador Zheng were Li Min, Secretary General of the Western Returned Scholars Association; Michael Lawrence, CEO of Asia House; and Sir David Quarry, Asia House board member and Group Head of Public Affairs at HSBC. Their insights set the stage for lively, data-driven discussions on the future of finance and education.
Highlighting the economic backdrop, Ambassador Zheng warned that "the world economy is increasingly marked by instability and uncertainty." He pointed to recent tariff and trade battles that have tested WTO rules, disrupted global supply chains and underscored the need for true multilateralism.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War—a stark reminder, the ambassador said, that unity and cooperation are vital to safeguarding the multilateral trading system and the United Nations–centred international order.
Despite these headwinds, the Chinese mainland has stayed the course of high-quality development. Bilateral trade with the United Kingdom has hovered above 110 billion pounds for several years, while two-way investment stands at more than 130 billion pounds.
Green finance took centre stage when Ambassador Zheng highlighted April’s issuance of 6 billion yuan in green sovereign bonds on the London Stock Exchange—a landmark move demonstrating the Chinese mainland’s commitment to sustainable capital markets.
Education has emerged as another pillar of these bilateral ties. With over 200,000 students from the Chinese mainland studying in the UK and nearly 50,000 UK students undertaking programmes in China since 2013, both nations are deepening people-to-people connections and driving cultural exchange.
Looking ahead, Ambassador Zheng urged officials and industry leaders to turn high-level commitments into action. "Mutual respect, openness and inclusiveness must guide our next steps," he said, calling for a distraction-free push to expand cooperation in finance, education and beyond.
As China wraps up its 14th Five-Year Plan, the symposium is a timely reminder: forging new paradigms in green finance and educational exchange can deliver real-world impact for young entrepreneurs, students and changemakers worldwide.
For aspiring global citizens, the message is clear: now is the moment to engage with these Sino-UK initiatives—from sustainable bonds to study exchanges—because the next chapter in international collaboration is just beginning.
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China Ambassador to UK attends Sino-UK Financial Education Symposium
cgtn.com
