(Originally published on 09/11/2015)

An international forum was held today in Beijing to discuss internet finance regulatory policies and share innovative practices, in China and around the world. The event was jointly hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchange (CICETE) and the China Association of Microfinance and Huizhong Wealth Management.

“Accelerating financial inclusion is a priority for poverty alleviation globally. Internet finance is a useful tool that can make a huge difference,” said Mr. Patrick Haverman, UNDP Deputy Country Director. “Today, the nternet has made it possible to enlarge scale and reduce costs for financial inclusion, through platforms such as P2P lending and mobile banking,” he added. 

The Internet Finance (P2P Lending) Innovation Forum was attended by representatives from the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), the State Council Development Research Center, regional financial offices, international organizations, and internet finance companies.

This event was part of UNDP and CICETE’s Building Inclusive Financial System in China programme. In addition to organizing platforms for knowledge exchange among internet finance stakeholders such as the Forum, the programme also plans to establish an inclusive finance research center and cooperate with the Research Department of PBOC to promote internet finance policies and practices.

During the Forum, participants discussed the newly released regulatory guidelines called Guiding Opinions on Promoting the Sustainable Development of Internet Finance, and shared different perspectives on risk management in inclusive finance and international practices. Participants also engaged in a panel discussion around challenges and new opportunities facing China’s Internet finance sector.

Funded by the Huizhong Group, the Forum provided a unique opportunity for regulatory authorities, research institutions and private sector companies to work together to achieve inclusive finance for poverty reduction.

As the first organization to introduce microfinance in China, UNDP has been working since 1994 with the Chinese government to push for inclusive finance for poverty alleviation. With 48 microfinance pilot projects in 17 provinces, the partnership has greatly contributed to the development of microfinance in China.

(Originally published on 11/17/2015)

UNDP China hosted a Youth Roundtable Discussion in Beijing, bringing together young leaders from local NGOs and Universities, with international observers to discuss youth issues. Participants included China Youth Development Foundation, China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, Tsinghua University Student Union and Africa 2.0 China Chapter and 15 other Youth organizations.

The roundtable consisted of three parts: introduction to UNDP’s work and ideas behind the Youth Working Group, participant’s background introduction including brief of current projects related to youth and the potential impact on China’s development and finally brainstorming and discussion.

In the process of initiating and implementing projects and activities, UNDP China has recognized the necessity of young people’s opinions and feedback. The youth makes up a substantial part of society and often offers a unique perspective to development challenges. Furthermore, UNDP believes that their involvement can be significant for the achievement of both the Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nation’s objectives to ensure peace and security, enable development, and protect human rights.

Deputy Country Director of UNDP China, Patrick Haverman addressed the participants in his opening remarks. He stressed the importance of listening to the youth and noted that UNDP itself is making a concerted effort to connect with the younger generations, this is particularly important as the youth in China occupy a large proportion of the population (14 to 35 years occupy 33.53％ of all population). He also expressed the importance of the youth for implementing the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals.

The discussion focused on governance mechanisms, activities and members, and the issues surrounding key development challenges for Chinese youth. Additionally, UNDP strategies to tackle these development challenges and how best to support UNDP China’s work on youth were discussed.

Senior representatives from developmental institutions including; China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation and YouCheng Start-up Café highlighted the importance of involving more college students in philanthropy and introduced various programmes which provide training and micro funding to tackle the youth employment problem.

Assistant President of the Chinese Academy of Social Science Graduate Student Union, stressed the need for more information to be shared among youth and youth organizations such as projects, programming, innovations and other work.

UNDP China has committed to engage the youth of China and seek more concrete collaboration with youth organizations. With the recent adoption of the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), UNDP has acknowledged that looking forward, youth leaders and youth organizations will play an even bigger role in achieving these new global goals.