The skyline of Qianjiang New Town CBD, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province [Photo/VCG]

City seeks to be a hub of international financial technology

After establishing itself as a center for e-commerce, Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, is looking to be a global leader in financial technology, according to a municipal government guideline issued on May 30.

The city aims to achieve a fintech industrial added value of over 120 billion yuan ($17.4 billion) by 2022 and a comprehensive international fintech center by 2030.

To achieve that goal, the city will advance supply-side structural reform in the financial sector, promote the innovative application of cutting-edge technology, build platforms supporting the development of financial technology, and push forward the digital development of traditional financial institutions, authorities said during a news briefing.

"Financial technology is the core of Hangzhou's financial sector," said Zhou Jiangyong, Party chief of Hangzhou.

He said that the city will look to further integrate the finance and technology sectors by playing to its strength in digital economy and clustered financial institutions.

According to a 2018 report on global fintech hubs, Hangzhou, home of e-commerce juggernaut Alibaba and its financial arm Ant Financial, was among the top seven in the world in terms of its fintech environment, along with Beijing, San Francisco, New York, London, Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Furthermore, Hangzhou leads the world in terms of fintech consumption, with about 91.5 percent of the city's population using fintech products and services.

The strength Hangzhou has demonstrated in innovation, information industry, and sound service systems, along with its sizable talent pool, lend strong support to the city's ambition to become an international fintech center.

Last year, the New York-based multinational American Express formed a joint-venture with Chinese fintech services company Zhejiang LianLian Technology Co to build a network business that will enable charges on American Express branded cards to be cleared and settled domestically.

Registered as Express (Hangzhou) Technology Service Co, the company is the first foreign card network to clear card payments in China and is expected to raise Hangzhou's profile in the global financial landscape.

Hangzhou is striving for financial breakthroughs, with the added value of the financial industry totaling 119.7 billion yuan last year, accounting for 9 percent of the city's GDP.