Chinese and European financial leaders gathered in Paris on Tuesday to explore new investment opportunities, with electric vehicles and clean energy topping the agenda.
The China-EU Financial Investment Forum was held simultaneously in Beijing and Paris as a branch forum of the ongoing Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2026, focusing on cross-border industrial investment, supply chain resilience and sustainable development.
Olivier Vigna, CEO of Paris EUROPLACE, said there is immense potential for China and Europe to expand cooperation in digital and green finance. Paris EUROPLACE is the official body responsible for developing and promoting the French financial market on the international stage.
"I think there are two main areas in which China and France may further collaborate, which are first, digital finance -- because we see big progress in Europe and especially in Paris, around tokenization -- and also stablecoins, tokenised deposits," said Vigna.
Economist and former senior expert of French advisory body High Commission for Strategy and Planning Ni Jincheng sees clean energy as a big opportunity, from wind power to green hydrogen. But, before companies commit, they need to know what’s actually possible, and which projects could be stalled over security concerns, he said.
"Due to the uncertainty of Chinese investments in the West, I think Europe or France need to clearly address or point out its core, sensitive or strategically important industries or projects, and allow market competition in other sectors," said Ni.
With a theme of "Building an Open, Collaborative and Inclusive Ecosystem for Global Financial Development," the Annual Conference of Financial Street Forum 2026 opened on Monday in Beijing and has attracted prominent guests from home and abroad to participate in various activities, including the main forum, parallel forums, thematic sessions and side events during the four-day event.
China, Europe explore green energy, financial investment ties at Paris forum
