Yang said Shanghai has enjoyed friendly ties with London for 20 years and the two cities have cooperated effectively in many areas, particularly in financial sector, as Shanghai tries to play the role of an international financial center.

He said Shanghai has accelerated its transformation into an international economic, financial, trade and shipping center while tackling new challenges arising from complicated world situation. Financial institutions need business innovation to serve the economy and to develop Internet finance.

The mayor said Shanghai is also building itself into a global innovation center and is speeding up the development of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. The city hopes to strengthen cooperation with London to better cope with new challenges of development.

Lord Mountevans spoke highly of Shanghai’s impressive achievements in such a short period of time and said he is pleased with the two cities’ cooperation in various fields.

He agreed that Shanghai and London need closer cooperation to deal with problems in an ever-changing world. The City of London is willing to share its financial market expertise with Shanghai.British Consul General John Edwards also joined the meeting.

Source: Shanghai FTZ Government.cn