The 2025 Tsinghua PBC School Global Finance Forum is set to take place in Shenzhen, China, on May 17-18, 2025. This year’s theme is “Sharing the Future: Building an Open and Inclusive Economic and Financial System.” The event will bring together over 100 global leaders, including Zhou Xiaochuan, the former governor of the People’s Bank of China, heads of international financial institutions, top economists, and tech innovators.
Key Agenda Items
The forum will address several critical topics. First, the reform of the global monetary system will be discussed, with debates on central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and multipolar currency frameworks. A special session will focus on BRICS+ payment alternatives. Second, the challenges of economic fragmentation will be explored, with a panel on the impacts of supply chain decoupling and new research on trade bloc productivity presented by MIT’s David Autor. Third, the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will be highlighted, with the launch of a cross-border fintech sandbox proposal and announcements of expanded Connect programs by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Lastly, climate finance innovations will be discussed, with a preview of Shenzhen’s carbon trading 2.0 platform and insights from BlackRock on Asia-focused transition funds.
Notable Firsts
This year’s forum will feature several firsts. Closed-door sessions will be held on geoeconomic risk redlines, involving 18 central bank governors, and on AI governance in finance, with participation from technocrats of the Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, and the People’s Bank of China. Additionally, the forum will draft the Shenzhen Declaration, outlining principles for inclusive digital finance.
Why It Matters
The timing of the forum is significant, coinciding with several key developments: the People’s Bank of China’s 20% increase in tech innovation relending quotas, new U.S. tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles (effective June 1), and the International Monetary Fund’s revised global growth forecast for 2025, which has been downgraded from 3.1% to 2.8%.
Expert Preview
Tsinghua University’s Professor Li Daokui expects concrete deliverables on the internationalization of the Chinese yuan. Anticipated outcomes include an expanded digital yuan pilot for Belt and Road settlements and new offshore RMB liquidity facilities.
By the Numbers
The forum will host 13 thematic sessions and 2 private ministerial roundtables. Notably, the speaker lineup includes a 40% female representation, up from 28% in 2024. The forum’s decade-long legacy continues to influence policy, with recommendations from 2023 directly informing China’s fintech regulatory overhaul. Real-time insights will be shared via the forum’s new metaverse platform.
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