(Yicai) July 7 -- Sixteen leading companies signed agreements worth more than CNY10 billion (USD1.4 billion) to settle in the Beijing Digital Economy Enterprise Overseas Innovation Service Base during the four-day Global Digital Economy Conference 2025 held in the city.

China Silk Road Group, China Digital Culture Group, Global Infotec, and 13 others inked the deals at the GDEC, which was themed "Building Digital-Friendly Cities" and ended on July 5. The companies will deeply integrate with the comprehensive services provided by the base to jointly explore cutting-edge technological innovations, expand application scenarios, and collaborate in overseas markets, working together to create an internationally competitive overseas industry cluster.

The "International Cooperation Alliance for Overseas Expansion" was also established in collaboration with 24 associations and corporate representatives, including the Euro-Sino Enterprises Association, the Export-Import Bank of China, China Telecom, and KPMG, at the conference.

In addition, Beijing allied with over 40 cities from Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and Latin America to jointly initiate the Global Digital Economy Cities Alliance, which will focus on digital infrastructure development, cross-border data governance, ethical considerations in artificial intelligence, smart city applications, and other key issues. It will enhance collaborative development among city clusters, co-build industrial ecosystems, and drive innovations in digital governance.

China has a vibrant digital finance market, ranking first in the world in terms of scale, Li Dongrong, former deputy governor of the People's Bank of China, said at the GDEC's Digital Finance Forum. The development of digital finance can be advanced by focusing on four key areas: adhering to the principle of technological neutrality, improving the data security governance system, promoting collaborative innovation, and strengthening international cooperation, he added.

The financial industry has entered the "AI era," noted Chen Wenhui, ex-vice chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. Financial institutions should embrace the application of large language models but be mindful of potential risks, he pointed out.

China has jumped to the fourth spot in global financial competitiveness, according to the Global Financial Competitiveness Report 2025 released at the forum. Its fintech competitiveness ranked third in the world for the second straight year, mainly due to a significant enhancement in the development potential of the fintech industry.

Editor: Martin Kadiev