Finance China 2026

Multipolar Dynamics, Intelligent Breakthroughs: AI Redefining China's Financial Competitiveness

2026 marks the first year of China's 15th Five-Year Plan and a critical juncture in its transition from old to new growth drivers. New quality productive forces are gaining momentum, while structural adjustments in real estate and manufacturing continue. An aging population pressures the labour market, and the recovery path for consumption and investment remains uncertain. Internationally, Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's policy pivot—combined with the AI boom and geopolitical tensions—is amplifying capital flow volatility. Risks across the Russia-Ukraine theatre, the Middle East, and the Western Pacific are accelerating a "USD, Euro, RMB" multipolar currency framework, opening a strategic window for China's financial industry to help reshape the international order.

In the US-China AI race, domestic models have achieved comparable—sometimes superior—performance at a fraction of the computing cost of their US counterparts, laying the groundwork for "financial-grade" AI. Surging inference demand, set against power supply constraints, is a critical bottleneck for the next phase. At the same time, maturing model capabilities and business models are pushing AI in finance toward an industrial tipping point.

This closed-door roundtable brings together chief economists from international institutions, leading Chinese macroeconomists, AI experts, and senior executives from major state-owned banks, joint-stock banks, city commercial banks, insurers, and fintech firms. Drawing on real-world experience, participants will examine frontier practices in AI agents, human-machine collaboration, and autonomous technology roadmaps—charting a path for China's financial intelligence development and exploring how technology can build a sustainable moat for the industry in the next wave of competition.

Preview · Finance China 2026

Agenda

Finance China 2026 · Thursday, 16 July 2026 · Beijing, China

13:30 – 14:00

Registration

14:00 – 15:00

Welcome & Keynotes

Welcome address

Cindy YU

Group Director and CEO, Greater China, TAB Global

Keynote speeches

Keynote Speech Ⅰ: Global economic outlook

Global economic outlook

John GONG

Professor of Economics, University of International Business and Economics

Keynote Speech Ⅱ: Building the AI bank: Building the AI bank

Emmanuel DANIEL

Founder and Chairman, TAB Global

The Asian Banker Awards Programmes Research Findings Report

Hugh ZENG

Research Manager, TAB Global

15:00 – 15:30

Tea/Coffee break

15:30 – 17:00

Leadership Dialogue

Finance & Innovation Leadership Dialogue

Reshaping the Business Landscape: AI-Driven Bank-Wide Scenario Transformation

This session examines how AI is reshaping the front, middle, and back-office workflows of banks, drawing on frontline practices from leading financial institutions across core business scenarios including retail banking, inclusive finance, elderly-care finance, risk management, and technology finance. The discussion will also assess the real-world challenges and potential solutions in organizational transformation, data governance, and regulatory coordination.

How does AI enable personalized operations and elderly-friendly interactions in retail and inclusive finance?
How can large-model-driven dynamic risk management balance real-time early warning with auditable compliance?
How can AI facilitate full-lifecycle financing for technology enterprises and synergistic coordination across the industrial ecosystem?
A discussion on the Guiding Opinions on the Safe Development and Application of Artificial Intelligence in the Banking and Insurance Sectors

Panelists Include: