On July 10, Dr. Ma Jun, Chairman of the Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI), met with H.E. DR. Kao Kim Hourn, the Secretary-General of ASEAN.

Their conversation focused on the forthcoming CASI event to be held in Malaysia next year, green trade, and green finance instruments to support green trade within RCEP between China and ASEAN.   The discussion highlighted opportunities in various areas, such as sustainable agriculture, biofuel (e.g., sugarcane ethanol) for sustainable aviation, and green trade.

Dr Ma explored the idea of promoting sustainable agriculture in ASEAN via green trade policy with RCEP (e.g., accelerated reduction in tariffs on sustainable agriculture products) and reduction in financing costs for trade using sustainability-linked financial products. Dr. Ma has initiated a research project on green trade and green finance and invited the economic pillar of the ASEAN Economic Community to participate in the research.   Dr. Kao welcomed CASI’s effort in promoting sustainable finance capacity building in ASEAN and is keen to collaborate with CASI in exploring ideas on promoting green trade and green finance options, with a view to facilitating cooperation between China and ASEAN countries.