Financial Showdown in the 'Clover': Banks Display Their "Eighteen Skills" at the Import Expo
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On November 5, the 8th China International Import Expo (CIIE) opened in Shanghai. Inside the 430,000-square-meter "four-leaf clover" exhibition venue, which brings together global wisdom, 4,108 overseas enterprises showcased their latest achievements to the world.
When foreign businesses come to China, financial services take the lead.
The annual CIIE is both a golden gateway for China to advance high-level opening up and inject certainty into a turbulent global economy, as well as a premier “arena” where various financial institutions compete and showcase their "secret weapons" for cross-border services.
According to incomplete statistics from Xin Feng, dozens of banks including Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Bank of Communications, SPD Bank, and Standard Chartered participated this year, including policy banks, state-owned banks, foreign banks, as well as joint-stock banks and city/rural commercial banks with distinctive cross-border financial features.
State-owned banks: Demonstrating full-chain service capabilities
On the world-class stage of CIIE, major state-owned banks are showcasing their “secret weapons,” leveraging their powerful global networks, integrated service capabilities, and cutting-edge digital innovations to fully empower this economic and trade event, demonstrating the high standard of China's cross-border financial services.
Walking into the National Exhibition and Convention Center, Bank of China’s booth is always popular.
As the only “strategic partner” of the CIIE, Bank of China has served the Expo for eight consecutive years, supporting nearly a hundred overseas promotion events and over 120 domestic investment roadshows in nearly 80 countries and regions.
This year, Bank of China set up a "Cross-border E-commerce Zone" for the first time, jointly presenting with partners such as Longhua Group, Lianlian Pay, and Ant International, bringing the entire chain of “payment, logistics, warehousing, and consumer retail” to the exhibition platform;
The bank’s upgraded “digital RMB hard wallet” now supports conversion of 36 currencies and on-site settlement for 33 foreign cash currencies, allowing visitors to experience “tap and pay” instant payments both on-site and at designated outlets.
Beyond digital payments, Bank of China also shared fintech solutions such as intelligent risk control in its dedicated area, promoting mature "Chinese solutions" to international markets, becoming a reference model for many emerging economies seeking to enhance trade facilitation.
Bank of Communications, which has maintained a full attendance record at previous CIIEs, fully showcased high-quality development achievements by integrating “finance + technology + scenario”.
For example, in the automobile and smart mobility exhibition area, financial technology achievements were presented through immersive interactive experiences; in the culture and tourism section, their "Cultural Tourism Grand Show" brand was created to show how finance supports various consumption scenarios in culture and tourism.
To ensure the smooth running of CIIE, Bank of Communications optimized its end-to-end foreign-related service processes, opening “foreign service counters” at 45 key branches, equipped with bilingual guides and English-speaking staff.
In addition to demonstrating financial service capabilities, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China pioneered an entrusted exhibition service format at this CIIE, helping high-quality overseas small and medium enterprises lacking channels to participate.
Today, ICBC has set up a special booth for food and agricultural products, has helped nearly 600 exhibitors from over 70 countries and regions participate, and has collaborated with the CIIE Bureau to host multiple “product selection meetings” and “long corridors of demand,” offering one-stop services from display to contract signing and financing.
For supporting activities, ICBC has also hosted the sub-forum of the Hongqiao International Economic Forum for the fifth consecutive year, focusing on "financial support for global supply chain stability and smoothness" under the Belt and Road Interbank Cooperative Mechanism (BRBR).
Foreign banks: Serving as a “bridge” between China and foreign markets
On the open stage of the CIIE, foreign banks consistently play a unique “super connector” role:
They leverage global networks and local expertise to help international businesses explore the Chinese market while using their deep understanding of international rules and emerging markets to assist Chinese enterprises in going global, becoming a “two-way express lane” connecting Chinese and foreign commerce and trade.
Today, foreign financial institutions regard the CIIE as an important window to showcase their strategies in China. Old friends such as Standard Chartered, UOB, and DBS were all present this year, and Russia’s Alfa-Bank brought differentiated cross-border solutions.
Participating for the eighth consecutive year, Standard Chartered focused on cross-border financial services, trade finance, and sustainable finance at this year’s Expo.
Standard Chartered Group CEO Bill Winters said, “The prospects for global trade remain complex and full of uncertainty, but China’s continuous opening up and steady economic growth bring confidence to international investment and global cooperation.”
HSBC’s booth took inspiration from a new hexagonal logo, showcasing its global network and comprehensive financial solutions in a multi-dimensional display;
As Chinese companies move into the era of global industrial chain layout 3.0, HSBC also partnered with the CIIE Smart Supply Chain Committee to hold roundtable discussions focusing on the latest trends for Chinese companies expanding overseas.
HSBC China’s President and CEO Wang Yunfeng said: “China is turning its ultra-large market into a that is shared with the world, providing enormous space for multinational companies to launch new technologies, new products, and new services in China.”
The booths of Singaporean financial institutions highlighted the close economic and trade links between China and Singapore.
UOB focused on the ASEAN market, displaying customized services such as cross-border e-commerce regional fund management and supply chain finance, establishing a China-ASEAN trade service hub;
Reportedly, UOB can provide overseas e-commerce platforms, cross-border e-commerce service providers, and logistics companies with regional funds management centers and cross-regional liquidity solutions, and offer overseas virtual account collection services for bank peers serving new trade models.
As the largest commercial bank in Singapore and Southeast Asia, DBS Bank focused on “technology finance, outbound Chinese enterprises, and wealth management,” showcasing cutting-edge practices and customized solutions in empowering tech innovation companies, cross-border finance, and global wealth management.
Small and medium-sized banks: Providing differentiated support based on their strengths
Unlike the large state-owned banks with comprehensive capabilities or foreign banks with extensive networks, a group of regional, specialty-focused small and medium-sized banks demonstrated unique service resilience and innovative vitality at this CIIE;
They are not seeking to be all things to all people but, by relying on localized service advantages, agile digital capabilities, and deep industry understanding, offer enterprises differentiated and customized financial support in the cross-border financial ecosystem.
As a financial institution rooted in Shanghai, SPD Bank fully utilized its home base advantage, upgrading its integrated CIIE financial service plan to version 8.0 under a digital intelligence-driven strategy.
SPD Bank has specially created one-stop digital intelligent solutions for cross-border settlement, financing, treasury management, and ecosystem services, launching ten new digital cross-border financial products such as “Rapid Global Remittance” and “Cross-border e-Link”;
Among them, “Rapid Global Remittance” and “Rapid Global LC” provide instant cross-border remittance and automated letters of credit approval for traditional import and export enterprises, while “Cross-border e-Remit” is designed for the cross-border e-commerce ecosystem, enabling fully online processing of sales fund collection, foreign exchange, and reporting.
Bank of Shanghai focused on the core demands of domestic and overseas exhibitors, creating dual innovations of “solutions + products” to unlock cross-border transaction bottlenecks.
On one hand, it launched an upgraded bilingual service solution targeting settlement convenience, exchange rate risk hedging, trade finance, innovative payment, and domestic-foreign connectivity, adding a new “pending FX purchase” service;
On the other hand, during the CIIE, Bank of Shanghai held the “Shangying Huizhi Cross-border Finance Launch Event” to showcase its achievements in cross-border financial innovation.
In terms of payment facilitation, Bank of Shanghai has upgraded its “Travel Card” functionality for online, cross-border payment convenience; offline, more than 200 outlets in Shanghai received special training, with an emphasis on strengthening services in areas around the Expo, and distributed a bilingual “Guide to Personal Foreign Exchange Business Services.”
Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank officially launched two new cross-border remittance products, “Xinyi Fresh Fast Pay” and “Xinyi Multi-currency Pay,” at the 8th CIIE.
Reportedly, “Xinyi Fresh Fast Pay,” through deep cooperation with mainstream financial institutions in Norway and Chile, optimizes the settlement process to achieve “second-level response and fast arrival” of funds;
This product is specially launched for “high-frequency, small-amount” fresh goods trade scenarios, with cross-border remittance fees reduced by over 40% per transaction.
Meanwhile, “Xinyi Multi-currency Pay” relies on the global network of overseas clearing banks, enabling payments in more than 120 currencies and direct receipt of over 40 currencies through just one US dollar account, truly realizing “one service covering the world.”
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