Beijing and Hong Kong have resolved to deepen connectivity between their capital markets and foster a high-quality financial ecosystem, a move that is expected to bolster China’s development as a financial powerhouse, according to speakers at a forum on Thursday.

Speaking at the Beijing-Hong Kong Financial Cooperation Forum, Vice-Mayor of Beijing Municipal People’s Government Sun Shuo highlighted the importance of the capital’s enduring financial ties with the special administrative region.

Currently, 226 enterprises from Beijing are listed on the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, accounting for nearly 30 percent of all Beijing firms that went public, according to Sun.

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The official said Beijing will actively promote the use of offshore renminbi and make cross-border payments more convenient by strengthening financial infrastructure links between the two cities, including deeper integration with Hong Kong’s official instant payment service Faster Payment System.

Beijing also aims to support the commercialization of scientific and technological achievements, drive industrial upgrading in both cities, and facilitate the exchange of top-tier talent, he added.

Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu also attended the event. He highlighted Beijing’s role as the country’s financial management center, and the headquarters of key regulators and many leading enterprises, as well as the core of policy and innovation.

Hong Kong, serving as an international financial center, is an ideal gateway for linking the domestic and overseas markets, Hui added.

“With complementary strengths and unlimited potential for cooperation, Beijing and Hong Kong will jointly inject new impetus to the openness of China’s financial sector and the development of the Belt and Road Initiative,” the secretary said.

China is stepping up efforts to strengthen its financial position. In its recommendations for formulating the country’s next five-year development plan, the Communist Party of China’s Central Committee emphasized the importance of developing technological finance and digital finance, improving the financial institution system, and ensuring the implementation of secure and efficient financial infrastructure.

Zhang Xiaojing, director of the National Institution for Finance and Development, said that financial cooperation between Beijing and Hong Kong should go beyond market connectivity and complementarity, and focus on building a forward-looking financial ecosystem centered on technological innovation.

The two cities can serve as testing grounds and incubators for innovative institutional tools and market solutions, supporting the country’s strategic agenda of technological self-reliance and developing into a financial powerhouse, Zhang added.

“Hong Kong has already made strides in integrating traditional financial services with blockchain technology,” he said. “By jointly developing blockchain infrastructure and digital asset trading standards that are scalable and can be regulated, Beijing and Hong Kong can not only accelerate the digital upgrade of financial infrastructure, but also contribute Chinese solutions to the global digital finance race.”

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The forum was part of the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2025, which took place in Beijing from Monday through Thursday, with subvenues in places including the HKSAR, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates.

Speaking via video link at the conference’s closing ceremony, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said that the SAR has been proactively acting as a two-way springboard for businesses “going global and attracting foreign investment”.

“We will strengthen Hong Kong’s advantages as a platform for going global, and join hands with more Chinese mainland enterprises to generate business opportunities,” he added.

Contact the writer at gabylin@chinadailyhk.com