The 12th North Bund Fortune and Culture Forum took place at the North Bund on March 31, aiming to promote the integration and innovation of finance and culture and establish a national brand for financial and cultural forums.
Themed "Integration and Development: A New Journey," the forum attracted about 300 guests, including celebrities, experts, and representatives from the fields of finance and culture.
During the opening ceremony of the main forum, Shanghai Vice Mayor Xie Dong delivered a speech, with Li Qian, the Party Secretary of Hongkou, offering a welcome speech, and Lu Ming, director of Hongkou, presiding over the ceremony.
Xie Dong highlighted that culture is an essential component of the soft power of finance. Promoting the cross-border integration of culture and finance is crucial for accelerating the development of the cultural industry and cultivating a distinctive financial culture in China.
Hongkou District has actively integrated itself into the construction of Shanghai as an international financial center, achieving a transformation from non-existent to excellent in its financial industry, Xie said.
The North Bund financial cluster has gathered a group of well-known domestic and foreign asset management institutions and functional organizations, becoming an important area for the construction of Shanghai as a global asset management center.
At the same time, with its rich historical and cultural heritage and intellectual foundations, Hongkou has a solid basis for exploring the integrated development of finance and culture, Xie said.
Li Qian stated that wealth and culture are eternal themes of human progress and social development, which are stronger together and even more potent when integrated.
Since the first forum in 2011, Hongkou has been committed to building a high-level exchange platform for the financial and cultural sectors, promoting mutual empowerment and achievement.
Li said Hongkou insists on openness, integration of old and new, and integration of industry and city, leading with the development and construction of the North Bund to innovate and elevate regional functions and industrial capabilities.
The event also featured the launch of the exhibition about the history of the Chinese Work-Study Movement in France.
The exhibition titled "Sailing from the North Bund, Opening Eyes to the World" marks the centenary of the Work-Study Movement and the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and France this year.
It showcases the journey of over 1,800 Chinese youths who traveled from Shanghai to France between March 1919 and December 1920 to work and study, through highly restored scenes and interactive displays, highlighting the historical movement and its significance.
The Shanghai Asset Management Association's High-Quality Development Research Center for Asset Management, the Professional Committee for Wealth Management, and the Professional Committee for Green Finance were also launched.
They are specialized institutions established by the Shanghai Asset Management Association to research the global development of asset management, wealth management, and risk management.
Since its establishment in North Bund in 2022, the association has gathered over 150 main asset management institutions and related professional service institutions, significantly promoting the development of the asset management industry in Hongkou and enhancing the influence of Shanghai as an international financial center.
Keynote speeches were delivered on various topics by notable guests from the fields of finance, culture, and enterprise, sparking intellectual exchanges on the North Bund of the Huangpu River.
The event also featured activities centered on asset management and distinctive Chinese financial culture, with guests focusing on themes such as "Red Finance: Historical Review and Heritage" and "The Wealth and Cultural Values of the Capital Market."
Since 2011, the North Bund Fortune and Culture Forum has been held 11 times, receiving acclaim from renowned experts and corporate representatives from the financial and cultural sectors.
The forum focuses on the integrated development of finance and culture, serving as a bridge for intellectual exchange between these two worlds and becoming a well-known platform for promoting information exchange and the innovative development of finance and culture, eagerly anticipated by all sectors of society.
Hongkou has leveraged the financial functional aggregation advantages of North Bund to enable finance with culture and invigorate finance with culture, continuously driving the interconnected, complementary, and mutually reinforcing development of the two major industries, creating a cultural and financial development environment characteristic of Hongkou.
Hongkou has established the "Cultural and Financial Innovation Service Base," fully utilizing financial capital to inject "fresh blood" into the development of the cultural and creative industries.
Additionally, Hongkou continues to play its strengths in cultural and financial innovation and integration development, constantly improving the ecosystem of cultural and financial industry integration, and striving to make Hongkou a new highland for Shanghai's cultural and financial industry.
This year, marking the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and a crucial year for achieving the goals and tasks of the "14th Five-Year Plan," the forum gathered professionals from the fields of finance and culture at North Bund, injecting more vitality into Hongkou's pursuit of high-quality development.