Greetings, Beijing

In a significant development, China has announced its GDP growth target for 2024, aiming for a moderate growth of around 5% following a post-pandemic growth of 5.2% in 2023. This continues China's status as the world's second-largest economy by GDP, a position it has held since 2010.

The announcement was made in the context of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) holding its annual financial services conference, Sibos, in Beijing for the first time. The decision to host Sibos in Beijing is seen as a demonstration of China's financial openness, with approximately 7,000 delegates attending in person, and an additional 3,000 participating remotely.

The conference provided a platform for various industry leaders to discuss the current state and future of global trade. Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters stated that trade growth will continue, but its nature is changing and has forces pulling towards fragmentation again. Joon Kim, Global Head of Trade Finance, Cash Management, and Solution Structuring Platform Group at BNY, explained how OCR and GenAI technologies can convert unstructured data into structured data, automating various processes and enhancing the client experience.

Avanee Gokhale, Global Head of Trade Strategy at Swift, discussed the need for collaboration in the industry to move forward and ensure a frictionless digital economy. Efforts to digitize trade have gained momentum, but there is still a proliferation of digital islands. Deutsche Bank's Co-Head of Trade Finance and Lending, Atul Jain, mentioned that the operating environment for trade has become largely unrecognizable due to various factors such as the pandemic, war, inflation, and cybersecurity.

Pam Mar, Managing Director of the ICC Digital Standards Initiative, believes that 2024 has been a real turning point in the alignment of legal frameworks for digital trade. As of September 2024, China's foreign exchange reserves have reached USD 3,316 billion, making it the largest holder of foreign exchange reserves in the world.

The People's Bank of China (PBOC) has been working on interlinking of cross-border payments and international cooperation with the rest of the world. Banks can support companies going digital and with the transfer of digital records, finding new ways to assess the credit worthiness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) especially across the developing world.

In the realm of e-commerce, Alibaba.com has been instrumental in helping millions of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) become cross-border entrepreneurs. Alibaba.com has helped 20 million orders each year, increasing the percentage of exporting GDP accounted for by MSMEs from 1% in 1999 to 60% in 2024. Kuo Zhang, President of Alibaba.com, explained how the platform supports MSMEs when they trade across borders, helping them navigate various complexities such as freight forwarding, customs controls, and FX.

Government stimulus has been a key factor in China's recent economic uptick. China's fiscal spending surged by 12.6% year-on-year in September 2024, according to the latest Ministry of Finance data release. Joseph Tsai has been the President of Alibaba Group since 2017. Beijing's Municipal Government expressed their warm congratulations on the opening of Sibos and highlighted the event as a representation of China's development opportunities and commitment to further opening up.

As the world continues to grapple with the challenges posed by global trade, events like Sibos provide a valuable platform for discussion and collaboration. The focus on digital trade and financial openness indicates China's commitment to playing a significant role in shaping the future of global trade.