From Apr.21st to 23rd, the delegation led by Prof. LIU Xiliang, Honorary Director of Institute of Chinese Finance Studies (ICFS) and Prof. WANG Qing, Director of ICFS, along with doctoral students of Class of 2016, Beijing, conducted a field research in Laokao County, Henan Province. Both sides held a financial inclusion forum and signed a strategic cooperation agreement. The entire event was covered by many media outlets, including China News Service, Financial News, Securities Daily and West China Metropolis Daily.

The forum was held in the lecture hall of Jiaoyulu Executive Leadership Academy in Laokao County. Nearly 450 people, including Lankao County’s main leaders, county officials above the deputy section level and village team leaders, attended the forum. LIU Xiliang and WANG Qing and other professors made keynote speeches. Focusing on inclusive finance, experts discussed in depth how finance served the real economy and agriculture, rural areas and farmers. How to better promote the sustainable and healthy development of county economy and to guide Lankao County to build a pilot zone of inclusive financial reform; How to form the experience of Lankao County, which can be replicated and popularized, to serve as a model for national financial poverty alleviation.

After the conference, the two sides signed a strategic cooperation memorandum. ICFS was invited to serve as a consultancy for the pilot zone of inclusive financial reform in Laokao County, providing intellectual support in terms of inclusive finance for Lankao County in the future. During the conference, teachers and students visited many pilot zones, including financial poverty alleviation households in Zhangzhuang Village, Batou Township, Lankao County, inclusive financial service stations in Daizhuang Village, Yifeng Township, and Sanyizhai Grameen Bank, and learned more about the development of inclusive finance in Laokao County.

Lankao County was the birthplace of the Jiao Yulu spirit and General Secretary Xi Jinping’s contact venue of the second group of the Party’s mass line compaign. In December, 2016, Lankao County was approved as the first national inclusive finance pilot zone. On Feb.27, 2017, Lankao was declared to be the first national poverty-stricken county to lift itself out of poverty. Aiming to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership between ICFS and Lankao County, the event was of great significance to promote the combination of theories and practices of inclusive finance in China. It was not only a beneficial attempt of ICFS to practice “studies on the theoretical and practical issues of party building” and improve social service, but also a successful exploration of Beijing Doctoral Class to innovate mobile teaching mode.