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Finance top on agenda

By Jiang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-04-16 09:34

China and the United Kingdom are poised to strengthen cooperation in financial sectors, Vice-Premier Wang Qishan and the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said.

The UK welcomes the creation of the Chinese sovereign wealth fund and its potential for investing in Britain, Darling said yesterday at the conclusion of his meeting with Wang at the first China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue in Beijing.

"Both countries recognize the importance of actually participating in the current discussions taking place in the international institutions on the issues between sovereign wealth funds and recipient countries to achieve better cooperation on a mutually open basis," he said.

Wang said China welcomes UK financial institutions' investments in the country, and in particular encourages them to "expand their businesses in central and western China, as well as in rural areas".

The two sides should also strengthen cooperation between financial regulatory institutions, given the current international situation triggered by the US subprime mortgage crises, he added.

The two sides have begun discussing "financing for sustainable development" as a potential theme of the next three-year program of the China-UK sustainable development dialogue.