2025 China SIF Summer Summit Successfully Held in Suzhou

2025 China SIF Summer Summit Successfully Held in Suzhou
Focused on "ESG-Powered Innovation and Transition"

On June 18, the 2025 China SIF Summer Summit was successfully held in Suzhou Industrial Park. Organized by SynTao Green Finance, the Summit brought together over 20 experts from regulatory bodies, financial institutions, and academia to speak and participate in discussions centered on the theme of "ESG-Powered Innovation and Transition". The event attracted more than 200 representatives from financial institutions, listed companies, and research organizations.
Dr. GUO Peiyuan, Chairman of China Sustainable Investment Forum (China SIF), Chairman of SynTao Green Finance, and China Representative of the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), moderated the event. In his opening remarks, he noted that disclosure standards, transition finance, and the move from rhetoric to real impact in ESG have emerged as key trends in the sustainable finance space. He emphasized that the real economy is increasingly engaging with ESG issues, which in turn drives industrial innovation and transition. Cities including Beijing, Shanghai, and Suzhou have introduced ESG-related policies, making it timely to explore both the latest developments in sustainable finance and how ESG is being applied in practice to support industrial upgrades.

WANG Zhongmin, former Vice Chairman of the National Council for Social Security Fund and Honorary Chairman of China SIF, delivered the opening remark at the Summit. He outlined four key scenarios where AI and ESG intersect: The first is the AI digitalization in ESG, such as calculating product carbon footprints and preparing ESG reports. The second is AI-powered agents supporting ESG analysis, where AI can supplement or even replace part of analysts' work and enhance decision-making. The third scenario is AI's role in carbon pricing and CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage) technologies. And last but not least is the use of green electricity to support AI and supercomputing centers, with direct green power sourcing emerging as a critical trend.
WANG Zhongmin emphasized that AI's ability to self-learn and interact, combined with its capacity to process vast and unstructured data, can significantly enhance decision-making in ESG and sustainable development. He called for a dual-track innovation approach, where AI and ESG mutually reinforce each other, particularly in supporting regional economies like industrial parks. This integration, he noted, is becoming a new pillar of regional competitiveness.

The first keynote session focused on emerging trends in ESG and green finance. Eric USHER, Head of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), pointed out that China has made impressive progress in developing a robust policy environment for sustainable finance,  aligning closely with global standards. UNEP FI is pleased to see that banks and insurance institutions in China have actively participated in the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) and the Principles for Sustainable Insurance (PSI), and taken big steps to advance sustainable finance and accelerate the real economy transition. He highlighted financial institutions' role in facilitating the transition to a low-carbon economy, and called for efforts to drive innovation and create a resilient future for all.

YU Jin, Deputy Director of the International Business Department at AXA SPDB Asset Managers, stated that Chinese companies continue to face both opportunities and challenges on the path to sustainable development. She emphasized the importance of coordinated efforts among governments, industry organizations, and businesses to create a closed-loop ESG ecosystem. This, she explained, would not only enhance China’s ESG standards with local characteristics but also improve their global relevance, helping China shift from a standards follower to a rules setter in the international arena.

The first panel discussion is themed “ESG & Transition Finance: Pathways to Progress” and TANG Binqi, Exam Officer at the College of Industry-Entrepreneurs and HeXie Academy, Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University moderated the session. Panelists include: Katherine HAN, Head of ESG Research & Investment at Harvest Fund Management; YANG Guiyuan, General Manager of Risk Management at Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank; Ricco ZHANG, Senior Director of Asia Pacific at the International Capital Market Association (ICMA); Miyuki ZENIYA, Founder of Evergreenp; and Anna MIAO, Board Secretary at Innovent Biologics Inc. Drawing from their respective experiences, the financial institution representatives shared insights into the opportunities and challenges facing different types of financial institutions in implementing transition finance strategies. Innovent Biologics, speaking from a corporate perspective, shared practical insights and advanced practices in integrating ESG into its business operations, providing a real-world look at how ESG drives innovation and value creation within enterprises.

Jonathan QIAN, Secretary General of China SIF and Vice President of SynTao Green Finance, officially released the China ESG Leaders Annual Report 2025. Based on SynTao Green Finance’s ESG rating results, the report identifies 138 ESG-leading companies across various sectors in China’s A-share market, aiming to set sustainable development benchmarks and promote ESG practices across industries. The selected companies can access their ratings and download the full report via SynTao Green Finance’s LEAP Platform, further supporting transparency and actionable insights for corporate ESG performance improvement.

The second keynote session focused on “Accelerating Industrial Upgrading through ESG”. Samuel KWAN, Manager of International Affairs & Sustainable Finance at Securities and Futures Commission Hong Kong SAR, China, emphasized that high-quality, comparable, and credible sustainability disclosures, including transition plans, are essential for companies to secure more diverse investment and financing opportunities.

Amy SONG, Chief Sustainability Officer at GCL Group, shared the group’s efforts in building the GCL Carbon Chain Management Platform, enabling visualized, quantifiable and verifiable carbon footprint for granular silicon-based solar modules, addressing current gaps in China’s photovoltaic product emissions data. Amy noted that China’s strength lies in coordinated efforts across the entire industrial chain, which will drive progress toward net-zero solar products and ultimately helping China gain a competitive edge globally and accelerate the global photovoltaic industry’s shift to low- and zero-carbon models.

Ricky NG, General Manager and Head of Investor Relations Department and Fan Li, Sustainability Manager of COSCO SHIPPING Ports Limited delivered a presentation. They shared the company’s ESG practices focused on building intelligent, green, low-carbon ports, thereby upgrading, innovating, and transforming the green shipping value chain. Their presentation emphasized that ESG is not just about fulfilling social responsibility, it is a strategic tool for enhancing core competitiveness, achieving sustainable growth, and creating long-term value. It also provides practical insights for peers in the industry and strategic evaluation perspectives for investors.

The theme of the second panel discussion is “Finance Promoting Industrial Transition” . WU Qi, Director of Environmental Law & Governance Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) China, moderated the session.
At the beginning of the session, DU Wei, Project Manager of Industry Decarbonization at the NRDC China, presented the results of a joint research initiative between NRDC, SynTao Green Finance, and the Central Iron and Steel Research Institute. She emphasized the significant financing gap faced by the steel sector in its low-carbon transition. Based on an in-depth analysis of transition pathways and financing features of various steel companies, the research team developed a “Steel Sector Low-carbon Transition Financial Toolbox”. This toolbox is designed to match steel company types, transition technologies, and financing instruments, enabling enterprises to select suitable financial tools based on their specific needs and providing a reference framework  for financial institutions to identify transition projects. It aims to improve the current situation where financing channels are limited, costs are high, and financial institutions lack systematic evaluation mechanisms, ultimately bridging industrial needs with financial services to accelerate the sector’s green transition.