Authors¡G Go Chengdu

The annual meeting will be a unique opportunity for China to review and strengthen its cooperation with the IDB Group , which will definitely bring positive influence to the host city.

The 60th Annual Meeting of the Boards of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Inter-American Investment Corporation (IDB Invest) will take place later this month here in Chengdu. Up to March 4, a total of 2,533 people, including 1,382 from China and 1,151 from overseas, had registered for the grand financial event.

"The year of 2019 marks the 10th anniversary of China's entry into the IDB Group as well as the 60th anniversary of the founding of the global financial institution. The Annual Meeting will be a unique opportunity for China to review and strengthen its cooperation with the IDB Group and to promote the integration of the 'Belt and Road' Initiative with LAC Region's development strategy, which will definitely bring positive influence to the host city, " said Bai Jing, deputy head of the bank and insurance department of the Chengdu local financial supervision and administration. According to her, the event this year includes the IDB-IDB Invest Annual Meeting, Mayor's Forum, a forum on innovation, entrepreneurship and development of SMEs, a business forum, and a high-level seminar on green finance. The latter four will focus on such issues as the future development of Chinese and Latin American cities, infrastructure construction, development of small and medium-sized enterprises and green finance of worldwide concern, in hopes of building a platform for investment and cooperation between China and Latin America.

As part of the Annual Meeting, the Mayor's Forum will bring together about 25 mayors of major cities in Latin America and a corresponding number of their Chinese counterparts, with the objective of exchanging experiences and good practices in sustainable urban development.

The majority of the participants in the Innovation, Entrepreneurship and SME Development Forum are from pioneering enterprises and related organizations. Themed "Innovation for Development: SMEs and Technology for a Bright Future," it will highlight such topics as how to improve the productivity of SMEs and to promote fintech innovation. It's expected to gather around 800 domestic and overseas participants. And to date, 11 Chinese guests have confirmed to deliver speech at the forum.

"Thanks to its strong economic foundation, favorable geographic location and excellent public infrastructure, Chengdu won the chance to host the Annual Meeting of the Boards of Governors of the IDB-IDB Invest," said Liang Qizhou, director of Chengdu local financial supervision and administration. With unremitting efforts, Chengdu has been progressing remarkably in becoming the financial center in western China. "Currently, building an ecological circle and industry chain centered on financial technology tops agenda for us, to help our financial institutions go global at a faster pace," Liang added.