In order to implement the spirit of the Central Financial Work Conference and Economic Work Conference, on the afternoon of December 21, 2023, the "2023 China Corporate Governance 50 Forum and the 12th Financial China V Forum (the 17th China Corporate Governance Forum) - Data Witness Quality, Good Governance Promotes Development" was successfully held in Beijing.

This forum is guided by China Association of Listed Companies and China News Service, sponsored by China Corporate Governance 50 Forum (Beijing Normal University Corporate Governance and Enterprise Development Research Center), Economic View, China Association of Listed Companies Academic Advisory Committee, and co-sponsored by CITIC Reform and Development Research Foundation and School of Economics and Business Administration, Beijing Normal University. It is co-organized by Shanghai State-owned Enterprise Corporate Governance Association, Sichuan Corporate Governance Research Society and Corporate Governance Branch of China Conduct Law Society.It is supported by the Corporate Governance and Enterprise Development Research Center of Beijing Normal University and the China Capital Market Research Institute of Renmin University of China.

Chen Yuan, vice chairman of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said in his written congratulatory message that in the important stage of in-depth study and implementation of the spirit of the Party's 20 National Congress and the implementation of the spirit of the Central Financial Work Conference, the theme summit of the China Corporate Governance 50 Forum was held in 2023, and the summit discussed the theory, experience and problems of Chinese corporate governance. It is timely and meaningful to offer suggestions on the high-quality development of listed companies. He further pointed out that "the more arduous the task of national reform and development, the more it needs strong intellectual support." "The China Corporate Governance 50 Forum is a new type of think tank composed of well-known Chinese entrepreneurs, corporate governance experts and scholars, and personnel from relevant government agencies." "At present, special attention should be paid to the ESG work of listed companies, and through the strategic forward-looking research guidance of think tanks, we are committed to promoting listed companies to actively practice the concept of green mountains and green waters to promote the realization of the 3060 dual-carbon goal, actively explore new methods and new ways to fulfill social responsibility, actively practice the stakeholder theory, innovate a new model of Chinese corporate governance and contribute to the high-quality development of listed companies."

Song Zhiping, president of the China Association of Listed Companies and director of the Academic Committee of the China Corporate Governance 50 Forum, pointed out in his speech that strengthening corporate governance is a basic project to improve the quality of listed companies. He pointed out that strengthening corporate governance is a basic work in improving the quality system engineering of listed companies. "Without good corporate governance, there can be no good listed companies, let alone a good capital market. A basic feature of modern enterprise system is the separation of ownership and management rights. Only through perfecting corporate governance can we solve the incompatibility between managers' incentives and constraints, urge them to faithfully perform their duties, and encourage them to be diligent and responsible for the interests of all shareholders, thus strengthening investor confidence."

Kong Dan, chairman of CITIC Reform and Development Research Foundation and former chairman of CITIC Group, pointed out in his speech that "good governance" contains four meanings, which are perfect corporate governance system, perfect corporate governance operating mechanism, perfect corporate governance supervision and being able to achieve remarkable corporate governance performance.He pointed out that "corporate governance is the soul of corporate development, and the perfection of corporate governance is not only related to the scientific and feasibility of decision-making, but also related to the effectiveness of supervision, and the protection of stakeholders' rights and interests." "In-depth research on corporate governance, improvement of the corporate governance system, deepening corporate governance reform, and strengthening corporate governance supervision should be the eternal theme of high-quality development of China's listed companies," he said.

Yu Lan, Associatw editor-in-chief of China News Service and president of China News Network, pointed out in his speech that at present, Chinese enterprises are facing the dual challenges of internal management upgrading and external competitive environment deterioration. Under such an urgent situation, how to achieve high-quality development and accelerate the construction of a group of world-class enterprises with excellent products, outstanding brands, leading innovation and modern governance is an issue of The Times that China's high-quality economic development must overcome, and it is also a realistic question that Chinese enterprises and entrepreneurs must answer.

The Forum released three latest corporate governance research results presided over by Professor Gao Minghua, director of the Research Center for Corporate Governance and Enterprise Development of Beijing Normal University and Executive director of the Academic Committee of the China Corporate Governance 50 Forum:China Listed Companies Governance Sub-Index Report No.22 (2023), China Listed Companies Quality /ESG Index Report No.3 (2023), China Financial Listed Companies Governance Index Report No.4 (2023). The China Listed Companies Governance Sub-Index Report has been published for 22 consecutive times, which is the longest continuously published corporate governance classification evaluation report in China. The Quality of Chinese Listed Companies /ESG Index Report has been published for three consecutive periods, which is the first publicly published ESG evaluation report for all A-share listed companies in China. At the same time, it has also built the largest professional database of Chinese listed companies' governance sub-index (including ESG index) in China.

The participating experts made keynote speeches and heated discussions around "Data witness quality, Good Governance Promotes Development".

Ji Xiaonan, former chairman of the Supervisory Board of State-owned key large enterprises of The State Council, pointed out in his speech that improving the internal and external governance system is the fundamental measure for the sustainable and healthy development of private enterprises. "China is recognized by the world as a civilized country that has not been interrupted for thousands of years, but the number of Chinese companies with a history of hundreds of years is very few, which is worth thinking about." The sustainable development of enterprises cannot depend on individual entrepreneurs. The first key to the long-term development of enterprises is to rely on the system guarantee, including corporate governance and modern enterprise system; The second is to rely on cultural inheritance. The lagging governance system is the institutional reason that restricts the sustainable and healthy development of some private enterprises."

Wu Xiaoqiu, dean of the National Institute of Finance at Renmin University of China, pointed out in his speech that financial power is a financial power governed by law, and China's current situation still has a big gap from the requirements of financial power. China's capital market is still a financing market, and it must change from a financing market in concept and function to an investment market. We also have to sort through a series of rules from the past, some of which are incorrect, for example, there are huge loopholes in the rules behind the queue, and these rules must be reformed. He said that although today's Chinese capital market is in a downturn period, there is still hope.

Qin Yongfa, former deputy director of the Enterprise Restructuring Bureau of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, pointed out in his speech that this year is a new round of reform and promotion, and corporate governance is still the focus of reform this year and in the future. Whether it is to take the Chinese-style modernization road, achieve high-quality development, or improve the core competitiveness of state-owned enterprises and enhance the core functions of state-owned enterprises, and build state-owned enterprises into world-class enterprises, modern governance is a key and basic institutional guarantee, and it is also an inescapable problem.

Li Wei 'an, Director of the China Corporate Governance Research Institute at Nankai University, pointed out in his speech that the number of listed companies in China is increasing, and the amount of financing ranks among the top in the world, but the return of small and medium-sized investors has not improved. The return of corporate governance to its roots is the return of investors, especially the return of small and medium-sized investors. He said, "In the market for goods and services, the customer is' God ', and in the capital market, investors are 'God'." Therefore, the capital market should establish a return oriented system for small and medium-sized investors.

Cheng Yuan, Director and General Manager of the Greater China region of RussellConsulting, pointed out in his speech that compared with the per capita GDP of China and the United States, the salary level of the independent directors of the CSI 300 companies is obviously lower than that of their international counterparts. If the market mechanism can be used to form a competitive salary level, attract leaders with richer business experience to serve as independent directors, and at the same time, the market reputation transmission mechanism can be used to pay equal attention to incentives and constraints, so that independent directors can help the company more effectively guide the strategic direction, supervise the management's behavior more effectively, and help the company better avoid risks. In turn, it plays a greater role in the overall corporate governance.

Dong Xiaodong, Executive Director and Secretary of the Board of Directors of Bank of Tianjin, pointed out in his speech that in the global scope, especially in developing countries and emerging markets, how to do a good job in the ESG field investment will become an important topic for financial institutions to win the initiative for future development. Facing the opportunities and challenges brought by ESG for financial institutions, more and more banks are also making efforts in the field of ESG. Small and medium-sized banks should make use of their strengths and avoid their weaknesses to realize differentiation and complementarity with large banks in implementing ESG concept.

The forum also set up two roundtable forums: one is corporate governance and value enhancement of listed companies; The second is ESG and financial capital investment. The two forums were hosted by Yu Xingxi, Secretary-general of the Beijing Association of Listed Companies, and Chen Deqiu, Dean of the International Business School of the University of International Business and Economics. Around these two topics, experts held a heated discussion.

Chu Xiping, executive director of the Academic Committee of the China Corporate Governance 50 Forum, pointed out that to improve the quality of listed company development, the most fundamental point is to protect the rights and interests of small and medium-sized investors. If the course of safeguarding the rights and interests of small and medium-sized investors is done well, China's listed companies will surely take it to a new level.

Zheng Zhigang, a professor at the School of Finance and Finance of Renmin University of China, pointed out that ESG should also see the cost problem behind it. We should give more choices to enterprises, rather than forcing a company to do it through external pressure.

Cheng Fengchao, president of the Zhongguancun Guorui Financial and Industrial Development Research Association, pointed out that it is necessary to enhance transparency, establish a responsible governance structure, and promote the long-term business philosophy.

Zou Qiping, Secretary of the board of Directors of Yi Pu Li Co., LTD., pointed out that there is a widespread phenomenon of internal control system hanging on the wall, governance system and the actual operation of listed companies, so the foothold of the governance system should be "effective".

Yu Xingxi, Secretary-general of the Beijing Association of Listed Companies, believed that the practice of ESG, the cost increase is temporary, but it is certainly beneficial in the long run. For example, if employee relations are handled well, the enthusiasm and creativity of employees can be aroused, and environmental protection can be done well, environmental risk incidents can be avoided, and the enterprise can avoid heavy losses.

Xiang Anbo, AssociateDirector of the Enterprise Research Institute of the Development Research Center of The State Council, pointed out that while practicing the ESG concept, attention should also be paid to avoiding the misunderstandings of ESG investment. It is hoped that ESG investment can become a real and effective value investment, rather than staying at the level of responsible investment, let alone become a cost input for enterprises.

Su Mei, AssociateDirector of the Academic Advisory Committee of the China Association of Listed Companies, pointed out that from the investment point of view, for foreign investors, if the enterprise does not disclose ESG report, it will not be taken into consideration, and the disclosure of ESG report is the basis for their screening targets.

Yuan Ya, Assistant General Manager of petrochina Kunlun Capital Co., LTD., pointed out that enterprises that attach importance to sustainable development must not pursue short-term interests and must not be speculative. Therefore, as long as ESG investors see this logic, their investment returns must be good.

Fu Haiyang, General Manager of the bond financing department of Caida Securities, pointed out that from the perspective of financial investment, ESG disclosure should not be a blacklist system, but a white list system, at least in the early stage - if you do, I will pay more attention to you, score high, give priority to you or invest in you more.

At the same time, the forum released the "2023 TOP50 List of China's Listed Companies Governance", "2023 ESG TOP50 List of China's non-financial Listed Companies" and "2023 ESG TOP0 List of China's Listed financial Companies".

Huang Yuncheng, chairman of the Academic Advisory Committee of the China Association of Listed Companies, explained the list. The TOP 50 list of Chinese listed Company governance is the top 50 of the general index of Chinese listed company governance; The ESG TOP 50 list of China's non-financial listed companies is the top 50 ESG index of China's non-financial listed companies; The ESG TOP 10 list of listed companies in China's financial industry is the top 10 ESG index of listed companies in China's financial industry.

The Corporate Governance Index and ESG Index were developed by Professor Gao Minghua's team at the Research Center for Corporate Governance and Enterprise Development at Beijing Normal University.

The basic principles of the selection of the two index systems are scientific, availability, comparability and sustainability. The evaluation sample is the listed companies that have been listed for at least one year as of March 31, 2023 (mainly considering the consistency and comparability of information), and excluding the delisted and planned delisted companies on that date. The sample size is 4,678 companies, and the data volume is more than 1.1 million.

All lists are calculated through a rigorous index system and scientific modeling, rather than the usual voting used by many other institutions. They are with scientific and verifiable characteristics.

This list is jointly released by the China Corporate Governance 50 Forum, Econimic View and the Academic Advisory Committee of the China Association of Listed Companies.

China News Network, China Newsweek and China Is Express provided special support to this forum.

Live broadcast platform: Phoenix network finance, financial, Teng xun finance, Sohu News, Wind 3C conference, flush, Lu want Hui.

Media partners: China Finance, Xinhua Finance, National Economic News, Economic Outlook, Jiemian News, Caixin News, Hexun, Blue Whale Finance, Red Weekly Securities Market, Titanium Media, 36kr, China Securities Journal, Economic Information Daily, Securities Daily, Shanghai Securities News, Securities Times, China Business News, etc.

About China Corporate Governance 50 Forum (CCG50) : "China Corporate Governance 50 Forum" is a non-profit corporate governance professional high-end think tank platform initiated by more than 50 corporate governance experts in the political, academic and business circles.The forumiscommitted to deeply implementing the central government's important ideas of modernizing the national governance system and governance capacity, and build a platform for the exchange of corporate governance theories and experience among government departments, research institutes and enterprises. It is committed to studying ways to realize the value of corporate governance, such as high transparency, clear accountability, effective supervision and respect for stakeholders, to serve the theory and practice of modern enterprise system with Chinese characteristics; We are committed to modernizing the governance system and capacity of Chinese enterprises based on China and facing the world.

The secretariat of the China Corporate Governance 50 Forum is located at the Research Center for Corporate Governance and Enterprise Development, Beijing Normal University, website :www.CCG50.org.cn

Provided by Research Center for Corporate Governance and Enterprise Development, Beijing Normal University

Edited by Gao Minghua

Reviewed by Sun Zhijun