Digital Finance Boosts High-Quality Economic Growth

Under the wave of the digital economy, digital finance is increasingly becoming a key pillar supporting the dream of a strong financial country. At the Central Financial Work Conference held in October last year, digital finance was listed for the first time in the financial industry's "five major articles" and was subsequently written into the 2024 government work report. Seizing the opportunity of the digital technology revolution, promoting the deep integration of finance and digital technology, striving to improve the quality and efficiency of financial services to the real economy, and doing a good job in the major article of digital finance are also one of the important directions focused on by the 2024 Financial Street Forum Annual Conference, which will kick off on October 18th.

Jin Wei, deputy dean of the Beijing Liyan Financial and Development Research Institute, said in an interview with reporters that with the rapid development of information technology, the financial industry is increasingly deeply affected by new technologies. As the two are continuously related, integrated, and innovated, digital finance has become an inevitable trend that complies with the development of the digital economy and is the most symbolic financial model innovation in the new era.

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Regarding the rich connotation of digital finance, Jin Wei introduced that first, it emphasizes the financial innovation brought by new technologies, which can create new models, businesses, processes, and products; second, it highlights the important role of digital technology, data elements, and digital infrastructure; third, it covers the digital remaking of the entire financial industry chain, including traditional financial institutions, quasi-financial organizations, financial technology companies, and digital platform companies; fourth, it highlights the new support model of finance for the digital transformation of the economy and society.

The advent of the digital age has also made the development of digital finance an important focus of the financial industry's transformation and development. Jin Wei introduced that digital finance has brought significant innovation to traditional financial businesses in payment, risk control, and customer service. For example, in the field of payment, new payment methods such as mobile payment and facial payment have greatly improved the convenience and security of payment through biometric recognition and big data technology; in the field of risk control, digital finance has realized more accurate risk assessment and management by using big data and artificial intelligence technology; in loan services, financial institutions can provide more personalized credit products for customers through intelligent algorithms, greatly shortening the approval time and improving the customer experience. These innovations not only optimize the traditional financial business processes, making financial services more intelligent and convenient, but also promote the inclusive development of financial services.

Digital finance helps to build a strong financial country and will better serve the real economy, effectively promoting high-quality economic development. On this, Jin Wei said that first, digital finance helps small and medium-sized enterprises to obtain financing faster and more conveniently through intelligent risk control and data analysis technology, aiding the accelerated development of innovation and entrepreneurship; second, the application of digital finance in green finance, supply chain finance, and other fields effectively promotes the optimization of the industrial chain and the efficient allocation of resources, promoting the cultivation of new quality productive forces; in addition, digital finance can further enhance the fairness of financial services through inclusive finance means, providing more convenient financial services for rural areas and low-income groups, and promoting balanced economic development.

China has unique advantages in the development of digital finance. In the interview, Jin Wei introduced that first, the national policy support is strong, and the government has issued many related documents to promote the development of digital finance; second, China has the world's leading Internet infrastructure, especially the widespread application of mobile payment, which provides a solid foundation for the development of digital finance; third, China maintains frontier exploration in key technology fields such as big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, and has made breakthrough progress in some areas, providing strong support for financial institutions to use technological innovation to serve. Equally important is that China has a huge and diverse market demand, especially in the fields of inclusive finance and rural finance, where digital finance can effectively fill the gaps in traditional financial services and further enhance the inclusiveness and accessibility of finance.

The 2024 Financial Street Forum Annual Conference will be held in Beijing's Financial Street from October 18th to 20th, with the theme of "Trust and Confidence - Discussing Financial Opening Cooperation and Sharing Economic Stable Development". In this regard, Jin Wei said that as the core area of China's financial reform, Financial Street has made important contributions to promoting China's financial opening, policy innovation, and international cooperation. Financial Street has gathered a large number of financial regulatory agencies, providing strong support for promoting financial innovation, opening, and policy reform. In addition, Financial Street has attracted a large number of domestic and foreign financial institutions to settle, building a complete financial ecosystem and vigorously promoting the development of financial technology, providing a solid platform for the development of China's financial industry. Jin Wei said that the 2024 Financial Street Forum Annual Conference, with the theme of "Trust and Confidence - Discussing Financial Opening Cooperation and Sharing Economic Stable Development", has important practical significance. Jin Wei believes that against the backdrop of increasing global economic uncertainty, rebuilding trust, enhancing confidence, and promoting financial opening cooperation will be key to promoting stable development of the global economy. With this theme, it not only reflects the strategic positioning of China's financial industry in the global financial system but also demonstrates the firm belief in achieving common development through financial opening cooperation.