The mission of the internationally recognised conference, organised in Beijing in March each year since 2005, is to provide a platform for representatives of business and academia, heads of international organisations as well as for members of the Chinese government to discuss current economic policy issues. In the light of the epidemiological situation, last year’s event had been postponed to November. This year, however, the conference was held in March, in accordance with past practice, online and offline simultaneously.
As last year, in 2021 the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) was represented by Deputy Governor Mihály Patai, who greeted the participants and those following the event via the Internet in a live video call. In addition to Mihály Patai, a range of prestigious contributors including Yi Gang, Governor of the People’s Bank of China, Agustín Carstens, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements, and Larry Fink, Chairman and CEO of BlackRock, attended the Saturday section. As the Deputy Governor pointed out in his speech, Hungary’s central bank believed that joint efforts and harmonised transnational policies were needed to achieve the long-term sustainability of economies. To this end, the MNB placed the strengthening of transcontinental cooperation and facilitating dialogue between people at the centre of its international relations and its own platforms. The Deputy Governor said that the global pandemic led to the emergence of megatrends which revolved around the transition to a green economy and a long-term sustainable path. For this reason, central banks and financial supervisory authorities around the world must ensure that the financial system has the capacity to manage financial risks resulting from climate change.