Halter Financial Summit

The prolonged financial crisis brought about profound changes in international political and economic patterns. With a focus on China’s place in the post-crisis world situation， the Halter Financial Summit， co-sponsored by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) and Halter Financial Group， was held in Shanghai from April 8 to 9， 2010. With a theme of China in a Changing World， the event examined various hot issues such as Sino-US relations， the current global financial situation， China’s role in the global economic pattern and investment opportunities and challenges in China.

Among Chinese officials attending the opening ceremony were Yu Zhengsheng， a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the CPC and Secretary of Shanghai CPC Committee， Xu Kuangdi， President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering， Li Xiaolin， Vice President of the CPAFFC， Tu Guangshao， Vice Mayor of Shanghai， Cui Jindu， Vice Mayor of Tianjin， Song Hai， Deputy Governor of Guangdong Province， and Han Yongwen， Deputy Governor of Hunan Province. From the American side， former President George W. Bush and former Treasury Secretary John Snow delivered major speeches.

The two-day conference carefully examined many aspects of Sino-US relations， friendship between the two peoples， the outlook for Sino-US economic development as well as specific issues like investment in China and capital raising prospects for SMEs. Policies relating to bilateral trade and the RMB exchange rate; China’s macro economic development also received attention.

In addition to Chinese government leaders of various levels， guests from theacademic field， and the financial and private business sectors all delivered speeches including Xia Bin of the State Council Counselor’s Office and Director General of the Research Institute of Finance under the Development and Research Center of the State Council， Zhang Yujun， General Manager of the Shanghai Stock Exchange， Li Ruogu， Chairman and President of China EximBank， LiYonghao， Board Chairman of the New Hope Group. The summit also attracted financial experts and top managers from all over the world， such as Pieter Bottelier， former Chief of the World Bank’s Resident Mission in China， former US Ambassador to China James Sasser， former Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank Norbert Walter， Chief Economist of The Royal Bank of Scotland Ben Simpfendorfer， Peter Schiff， CEO of Euro Pacific Capital and Timothy Halter， Chairman and CEO of Halter Financial Group. Opinions were shared among government officials， economists and scholars， investors and entrepreneurs from various perspectives in order to seek a common ground， deepen mutual understanding and build consensus.

Reaffirm Sino-US Win-WinCooperation

Sino-American relations underwent a period of an unpleasant experience due to a series of disruptive moves and actions of the US government. Many doubts were expressed on the future development of bilateral relations.

However， in this summit， key-note speakers from America firmly supported the positive development of such ties. They pointed out that Sino-US cooperation is of critical importance to the whole world and reaffirmed that win-win cooperation would be the key element in Sino-American relations.

In his speech， former President Bush said China is an important member in the international community. The development of China and the U.S. is not a zero-sum game. The rise of China should not be seen as a concern or a threat to America. He considered that China and America could seek more potential cooperation in energy， technology， anti-terrorism policies and dealing with international issues such as the Korean Peninsula problem. China’s development would bring more opportunities to the U.S.， he stressed. The two countries should develop their bilateral relations on the basis of win-win cooperation and seeking common ground while reserving differences. One of the key roles of this summit was to promote friendship between peoples of China and America.

The speeches of Mr. Snow and James Sasser indicated that China would become a major driving force for world development， and the prosperity of China wouldn’t adversely affect the U.S. In fact， there was little confrontation between the two world giants. The two sides should further promote exchanges and contribute to the stability and prosperity of world economy. In the Nuclear Summit held in Washington DC， President Hu Jintao also expressed the same opinion that only with their joint efforts could we create a better and more harmonious world.

Anti-Protectionism and Anti-Appreciation of RMB are of the Mainstream Voice

In his speech， Mr. Bush regarded the global economy as an interdependent whole where everyone embraced each other and firmly opposed trade protectionism. After the outbreak of the financial crisis， China had adopted active measures， carried out cooperation with America and the entire international community and ultimately prevented the crisis from deteriorating. He highly evaluated the cooperation between China and theU.S. and hoped the two countries could address each others’ concerns and needs， reinforce communications， and avert trade protectionism or even a trade war.

In Mr. Snow’s opinion， as a sovereign country， China’s currency issue was its domestic affair to be decided solely by China itself. When he was the Secretary of Treasury， both President Bush and he faced political pressure， but he never accepted China as a currency manipulator nor approved any punitive tariffs against China. The U.S. should not regard China as a currency manipulator.

Senator Sasser agreed with Snow’s opinion that it would be a mistake if the U.S. exerted pressure on China and listed it as a currency manipulator. He believed that， as time goes by， China will adopt a more flexible currency mechanism. Many people are under the illusion that the appreciation of RMB would help the U.S. recover from the financial crisis. But， Sasser insisted， economic problems in the U.S. could only be solved by the American people themselves.

Opportunities and Platforms for Chinese SMEs to Go Out

Shortly before the Summit， over 300 Chinese enterprises from various industries including consumer goods， automobiles， renewable resources， agriculture， health care， digitalized media and education participated in one-on-one dialogues and introduced themselves to investors and institutions from all over the world. These enterprises possess advantages in technology and production RD with large potential， but they lack capital support and managerial experience. Through exchanges with international investors with profound understanding of how to improve management and utilize global capital effectively， Chinese enterprises found new ways and paths for future development. Foreign investors， meanwhile， were satisfied with the proficiency of Chinese SMEs and signed agreements of intent with many of them.

The summit drew broad attention from mainstream media at home and abroad including the People’s Daily， Global Times， Shanghai Security News， CCTV and the Associated Press.