Editor’s Note

The 16th Beijing Great Wall Friendship Award is about to be presented!

The Great Wall Friendship Award stands as the only and most prestigious honor bestowed by Beijing Municipality upon foreign nationals in the city. During its previous 15 sessions, a total of 206 individuals from 31 countries have received this accolade. In 2023, Beijing launched the 16th Great Wall Friendship Award selection and commendation, which produced 15 laureates in the fields including economy, finance, science and technology, education, medicine and healthcare, culture, and sports.

Who are they? What outstanding contributions have they made to Beijing? What do they think about Beijing? What advice do they have for Beijing’s high-quality development? Let’s have a look.

Continuously improving banking services to attract businesses

Johan de Wit is a Dutch national and Vice President of Bank of Beijing. He has been actively bridging and promoting strategic cooperation between Bank of Beijing and ING Group since joining the institution, contributing significantly to the retail transformation, international cooperation, and corporate governance of the Bank. Wit identifies strongly with the corporate culture of Bank of Beijing. In a previous interview, he stated, “When I say I am a ‘Bank of Beijing person’, I mean it.”

Witnessing the leap of Beijing’s financial industry

Wit said that he has witnessed the qualitative leap of Beijing’s financial industry. “More and more banks and other financial institutions in China and abroad have established presence in Beijing, making the city a world-class financial center.” Looking out from his office window, he can see the towering buildings and heavy traffic on the Financial Street. Behind the busy scene lie encouraging statistics. As of the end of 2023, Beijing’s Financial Street hosts more than 1,900 financial institutions, including over 800 key financial institutions, 175 corporate headquarters, and 16 Fortune Global 500 companies.

Green finance brings greater potential for development

Bank of Beijing has officially signed the UN Principles for Responsible Banking and become a member of the UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative, continuously innovating green financial products and services. “China has emerged as the largest investor in global energy transition!” Wit believes that banks should play an increasingly important role in achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals and will enjoy more development opportunities.

High-tech finance serves as a powerful engine

The rapid development of digital and high-tech finance, such as mobile payment, has also impressed Wit. “When I first came to Beijing, most payments were made in cash, but now mobile payments are ubiquitous, and people are no longer used to carrying cash.” Currently, a large proportion of banking business has shifted from offline branches to mobile banking apps. Wit believes that this trend also drives banks to continuously improve digital service experience, and unlock and meet customers’ financial needs throughout the life cycle.

Moreover, he believes that the integration of technology and finance will serve as a powerful engine, attracting more and more enterprises. “Given the significant development opportunities, both small and large enterprises are willing to operate or set up branches here. This also helps Beijing attract innovative tech companies.”