From July 10th to 12th, 2025, Chengdu Finance Week series “The Tailor-Made Finance & Innovation Visit In Chengdu” concluded successfully in Chengdu. Hosted by the China Innovation Finance Institute (CIFI), the event serves as an integral part of the Chengdu Finance Week empowerment platform. It received active participation and strong support from Chengdu municipal and district government departments, industrial parks, and over a hundred outstanding enterprises from Sichuan Province and Chengdu City.
The “AIFC Day” roadshow event held on July 11th formed a significant part of the program. It featured high-level representatives from Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), Astana International Exchange (AIX), Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Baiterek National Managing Holding, and state-owned enterprises. During AIFC Day, multiple Kazakh national institutions presented cross-border investment and financing opportunities as well as the overall business environment in Kazakhstan and Central Asia to over a hundred specially invited Sichuan and Chengdu enterprises and industry associations. They also attentively listened to presentations by representative Chengdu companies. Beyond the roadshow, there were also official meeting with the Mayor and field visits to leading enterprises and industrial parks.
A key highlight of the event was the signing of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) between the China Innovation Finance Institute and both the AIFC Authority and the Astana International Exchange, witnessed by all event attendees. CIFI will engage in practical cooperation with AIFC and AIX across multiple fields including the global expansion of enterprises, financial services, capital markets, and policy research. CIFI will support their vision of leveraging Chengdu’s role in radiating across Western China and the broader Chinese market. In addition, CIFI will promote the establishment of new cooperation mechanisms and platforms for finance, investment, and trade between Chengdu and Astana, serving the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Kazakhstan and delivering results under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework.
In his opening remarks, Renat Bekturov, Governor of AIFC, stated: “Legal transparency and investor-friendly regulations make the AIFC a secure and attractive destination for institutions from all over the world, including major economies like China. Chengdu, as Western China’s economic and financial hub, shares broad cooperation prospects with AIFC in cross-border investment, financial services, and technology sectors. “
Calvin Chenggang Fu, Chairman of China Innovation Finance Institute|Chengdu and Secretary–General of Chengdu Finance Week, stated: “The MoUs signed with the Astana International Financial Centre Authority and Astana International Exchange, mark the acceleration of financial and trade cooperation between AIFC, AIX and China’s western region, particularly Chengdu. Both sides will, through pragmatic delivery, contribute to the China-Kazakhstan comprehensive strategic partnership and enhance the quality of cross-border financial cooperation and trade & investment under the Belt and Road Initiative.”
The AIFC is recognized by international rankings as the leading financial hub in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Since 2018, the AIFC has attracted $16.9 billion in investments and more than 4,000 companies from 85 countries, including more than 1,400 financial and consulting firms.
The AIX, established in 2017, is a key entity within the AIFC ecosystem and Kazakhstan’s national exchange. AIX is the first stock exchange in Central Asia to provide access to global investors, as well as the regional financing hub by providing market-oriented, diversified, localized and sustainable financing solutions to support the Belt and Road Initiative.
In recent years, Chengdu has actively promoted cooperation with Kazakhstan in cross-border investment and financing, industrial collaboration, and financial innovation, achieving fruitful results that ultimately facilitated this visit by the AIFC delegation. Significant support for inviting Sichuan and Chengdu enterprises and hosting the delegation was provided by the Chengdu Municipal Financial Regulatory Authority, Chengdu Municipal Bureau of Economic and Information Technology, Chengdu Commerce Bureau, Chengdu Private Economy Development Center, Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, Tianfu New Area, and Jinjiang District.
