BOC to bolster BRI, boost trade

Bank of China will increase efforts to strengthen the Belt and Road Initiative and thus facilitate China's high-standard opening-up, its executives said on Wednesday.

The bank, they said, has branches in 64 countries and regions, including 44 that are taking part in the BRI. It will extend its financial services to more domestic and overseas enterprises to boost trade and investment.

"We will continue to explore BRI markets to promote the smooth operation of industrial and supply chains, and help deepen bilateral and multilateral cooperation for building industrial capacity," said Yan Haisi, deputy general manager, corporate banking, Bank of China.

The lender will continue to establish new overseas facilities to cover more countries and regions participating in the BRI, Yan said.

It will support key traditional infrastructure like railways, ports and telecommunications as well as "new infrastructure" projects related to green development, the digital economy and innovation. This is expected to create new space or expand existing space for international cooperation, besides providing long-term and stable financial support to countries and regions participating in the BRI.

The bank will also enhance the quality of its financial services by innovating service models and expanding financial cooperation with policy and development finance institutions, multilateral institutions and commercial finance entities from developed countries.

According to Liu Yunfei, deputy general manager, global transaction banking, Bank of China, cross-border use of the renminbi in BRI countries and regions has been growing at a fast pace.

BOC data showed that in the January-August period, cross-border renminbi settlements by BOC's domestic branches grew by 22 percent year-on-year to 8.29 trillion yuan ($1.14 trillion), while their settlements with BRI countries and regions grew 27 percent to about 919.49 billion yuan.

During the period, cross-border renminbi settlements by all BOC overseas branches, including those in the BRI landscape, were worth 14.3 trillion yuan, up 4.45 percent year-on-year. In sharp contrast, those conducted by its branches in BRI countries and regions surged by more than 90 percent to 572.85 billion yuan.

A white paper on the BRI published by the State Council Information Office on Tuesday stated that as of the end of June, 13 Chinese-funded banks had established 145 first-tier offices and branches in 50 BRI partner countries.