Hosted by the Institute of Economics and Finance, and co-organised by the People's Government of Xiangcheng District, Suzhou; the Chinese Economic Association (UK/Europe); the School of Finance; and the Office of Research, the 2021 Yangtze River Delta Digital Finance Forum and China Economic and Financial Development Symposium was held at our university on 8 December.
Renowned scholars from many well-known domestic and international universities attended, including Nankai University, Southeast University, the University of Glasgow (UK), the University of California, Santa Barbara (USA), and IESEG School of Management (France). Young talents and professors engaged in a collision of ideas, jointly exploring the new challenges facing China's economic and financial development.
Professor Sun Yang, Dean of the Institute of Economics and Finance, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the symposium. He introduced participants to Nanjing Audit University's rapid development and achievements in recent years, and presented the research and teaching work of the Institute of Economics and Finance. He expressed the hope that the Chinese and overseas scholars in finance and economics present would offer suggestions for the university's discipline development while attending the symposium.
Mr. Li Ming, Deputy Mayor of Xiangcheng District, Suzhou, then spoke at the symposium, introducing the development of the fintech industry in Xiangcheng District from the perspectives of investment promotion, supporting policies, and future development directions.
Professor Zhang Zhengping, Director of the Digital Finance Research Centre and professor in the School of Economics at Beijing Technology and Business University, delivered the first keynote speech, presenting his research on rural finance, inclusive finance and digital finance. Professor Gao Yuning of the School of Public Policy and Management at Tsinghua University then delivered a keynote speech on "Tracing the Factor Income of Multinational Companies Through the Global Value Chain".
Subsequently, eight parallel forums were held simultaneously, themed respectively on financial markets, corporate finance, fintech, macroeconomic development, micro-structure and behaviour, Chinese listed companies, labour and human capital, and environment and development. Scholars from home and abroad brought participants a distinctive academic feast with their original and profound explorations of the problems in China's economic and financial development.
Finally, in the second keynote speech, Professor Liu Hening of Alliance Manchester Business School at the University of Manchester (UK) delivered a keynote address on "Estimating and Testing Long-Run Risk Models: International Evidence". Professor Sushanta Mallick of the School of Business and Management at Queen Mary University of London (UK) then introduced the recent situation of the journal Economic Modelling, including the journal's call-for-papers directions, review process, and submission information. Professor Mallick also shared his own experience of submitting to high-level journals.
This was the third time the Institute of Economics and Finance has held the China Economic and Financial Development Symposium. It helped promote exchange and connections between our faculty and students and domestic and international peers in the field of economics and finance, and enhanced the university's disciplinary appeal and overall influence.