East Meets West over green finance as UK-China Centre established

At a meeting in Beijing, the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Charles Bowman and Dr. Ma Jun, Chair of the China Green Finance Committee, are set to jointly establish the new UK-China Green Finance Centre.

The Centre will focus on research, data, investor education, capacity building, and raising awareness of green finance. Set to be funded through contributions from the public and private sector. 

A UK-China Green Finance Centre will be established at a meeting between the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Charles Bowman and Dr. Ma Jun, Chair of the China Green Finance Committee. [File Photo: IC]

Ahead of the meeting, the Lord Mayor, Charles Bowman said: "today's announcement is another hugely exciting step in our journey to make green finance more mainstream."

He went on to say that the UK and China are world leaders in green finance. And that combining mutual experience and expertise in this area has already seen benefits.

"I look forward to seeing what we can achieve in driving green finance solutions, improving green related disclosures and definitions, and in working to ensure Belt and Road initiative projects are sustainable.", said Mr Bowman.

It is believed that one of the first areas the Centre focuses on will be the Xiong'An New Area- – a new economic zone being constructed on the outskirts of Beijing which the Chinese government aims to develop as a world-class digital financial centre.

The centre will also be a home for Chinese financial institutions in London and collaboration between the UK and China, as well as serving as a knowledge hub for Belt and Road investors, issuers and advisors.

Today's news comes after a taskforce was created following the 8th and 9th UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogues.

"We are delighted with this UK Green finance initiative led by City of London" said, Dr Ma Jun, Chair of the Green Finance Committee. "The UK and China partnership in green finance has been crucial to drive this agenda globally."