A round-table on the China's Financial Stability was held yesterday in the University of Geneva, ECMI foundation has invited a group of senior researchers from China National Reform and Development Commission and some professors and economists from Geneva international organisations.(See the attached participants' list) The discussion has been brought around the following topics:

1. Financial service liberalisation under WTO framework and its implications for financial stability;
2. Swiss general framework for securing financial stability. How does Swiss regulatory authority effectively supervise the foreign banks operating in homeland and Swiss banks operating overseas? The Swiss regulation and law on money laundering;
3. What the impact of the trend to universal banking on financial stability?
4. What comments on China's regulatory system that the different regulatory authorities oversee separately banking, security and insurance industries;
5. How to better handle the foreign exchange issue in the drive of financial sector opening up?

“We are fascinated by Switzerland's vigorous financial services sector and eager to learn some good experiences from our Swiss friends on financial market regulation and development, as China has promised to open up its financial sector to the world competition in the next few years,…” said the visiting Chinese economists. Big challenges always bring risks and opportunities at the same time… “We hope to be able to manage the transition and to avoid a financial turmoil, as well as to maintain the dynamic economic growth of China.” It is still very worrisome for China that the traditional state-owned banks are possessing a huge amount of bad debts, and the efficiency and competitiveness of the domestic financial services companies need to be further improved.

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Invited by the School of International Relations of the Yunnan University , Prof Urio and Ms Wang have visited the campus of Yunnan University on Tuesday. Prof. Xian Xiao, the Dean, and Prof. Jun Yang, Prof. Feng Xu from the School of international relations, Prof. Tie Fang, Director of the Center for Studies on Southwest Borderland Ethnic Minorities, as well as Prof Yunwu Cui from the School of Public Management, met the Swiss visitors, a roundtable was held to exchange different points of views on academic management issues, followed by a brainstorming discussion on future cooperation between Geneva University and Yunnan University as well as ECMI foundation.

Founded in 1922, Yunnan University is one of the top-rate comprehensive universities in the west China. As early as in 1946, Yunnan University was listed in the Concise Encyclopedia Britannica as one of "the 15 Outstanding Universities of China".

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This afternoon ECMI visiting representatives have met the officials from the foreign affairs office of Shanghai Municipal Government at the Garden Hotel. Shanghai is facing the challenge and preparing for the organisation of the World Expo 2010 under the theme of "Better City - Better Life". ECMI is willing to help Shanghai in training a group of high-calibre international convention and exhibition managers, the training could possibly be conducted in either China or Europe. Both parties think that Geneva, as the most important international convention center, possesses certainly valuable know-how and extensive experience in this area.

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ECMI foundation was appointed by the Preparation Committee of the China International Forum on Sustainable Production and Consumption Patterns & Exposition on Green Consumer Products and Services as the exclusive agent of the Preparation Committee in Europe to facilitate the participation of European experts and manufacturers in the Forum & Exposition that will be held from December 6 to December 8, 2003 in Changsha city, Hunan Province, China.

The goal of the Forum & Exposition is "to introduce new production and consumption concepts of efficient resources utilization and reducing waste discharge so as to establish a new economic system for sustainable development in China". Suported by China's State Council and UNEP, the forum is co-organised by Chinese Society for Environment Sciences, Hunan Environmental Protection Bureau.

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Invited by Dr. Yajie Song, the Executive Director of the Yale-Tsinghua Environment & Sustainable Development Leadership Program( ESDLP), Prof. Paolo Urio and Ms Fang Wang visited Tsinghua University this afternoon. Prof Jining Chen, Head of the Department of Environment Science & Engineering of Tsinghua University also participated in the meeting with ECMI representatives to discuss about potential cooperation and creating synergy between ECMI and ESDLP.

The ESDLP is an initiative by the Yale University School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, USA, and the Tsinghua University Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, China. The prgram is designed to provide leadership education for Chinese governments, enterprises and other organisations on environment and sustainable development issues.

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Recently, the value of Renmingbi (Chinese Yuan) and China's financial stability have become a very hot topic in various international economic debates. ECMI is inviting an official macroeconomic research team from the China National Development & Reform Commision (NDRC), which is also known as the former State Development Planning Commission, to Switzerland for an international financial conference in November. Some interested financial professionals and officials from Switzerland and Europe will participate in this unusual event. During their visit in Switzerland, the NDRC financial professionals will also meet experts of the Bank of International Settlement (BIS) in Basel.

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After a short period of hesitation on whether continue or suspend the on-going training activities because of the preoccupation increasingly coming from SARS's outbreak in China, an official decision from Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)in Bern after the Easter holidays declared that the Sino-Swiss TM3 Europe training session, scheduled in early May, be cancelled, further plan will depend on the health situation evoluting in China. ECMI has also decided to postpone three other "visit to the provinces of European experts" programmes,originally planned repectively for Inner Mongolia( end of April), Jiangxi (end of May) and Yunnan (early June). The decisions from Swiss side are accepted with full understanding by the Chinese peers. Both sides agree on organising high-quality joint training programmes for the Chinese civil servants under sure and safe circumstances.

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Training continues in 2003 with the third "Training Managers" programme (TM3) opening its 8-week Beijing session from march 3, 2003. Peter Sorg, Steffen Raub, Alexandre Bergmann, John Peake and other three experts have been sent to Beijing in succession for teaching seminars in Startegic Management, Organisational Design, Leadership, New Public Management, HR Management, Training Management, etc. After the Beijing session, the TM3 group will come to Europe at the beginning of May for a three-week study tour as usual. This will be the last major training programme of the on-going Sino-Swiss joint project cooperated by ECMI foundation and CTCSPMO in Beijing.

The year 2003 is a period of transition for ECMI Foundation, the second phase of the Sino-Swiss management training programme, which started in 1998, will go to the end in June. After more than five years' experience in Training Chinese civil servants and party cadres, ECMI has gradually built up its working capacity in China related project and developed a significant network in China and western Europe. ECMI is now faced of reorganisation and development strategic changes.

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©2022 Paolo Urio | Email: paolo.urio@unige.ch |