On 5 December 2023, the 11th China Sustainable Investment Forum (China SIF) Annual Conference was successfully held in Beijing. The annual conference was hosted by SynTao Green Finance and co-organized by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (UN SSE). Dozens of experts from the regulatory, market and academic sectors delivered speeches or participated in dialogues at the conference, more than 300 delegates attended on-site, and about 300,000 people watched the conference online.

The theme of this year's conference is "Walking steadily to the future: ESG and high-quality development", and the conference focuses on "Policy Dialogue" and "Focusing on Promoting the High-quality Development of ESG". The conference will focus on policy dialogue and focus on promoting quality ESG development. Eric USHER, Head of the UNEP FI, and Wang Zhongmin, Honorary Chairman of China SIF and former Vice Chairman of the National Council for Social Security Funds (NCSF) of the P.R.C., delivered opening remarks. Tu Guangshao, Executive Director of Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and Chairman of the Executive Council of Shanghai Finance Institute, Zhu Guangyao, Former Vice Minister of Ministry of Finance of the P.R.C., and Li Xiaowen, Second Grade Inspector of Policy Research Bureau of National Administration of Financial Regulation, and other honorable guests attended the conference. Guo Peiyuan, Chairman of China SIF and Chairman of SynTao Green Finance, presided over the event.

In the research release session, Zhu Xufeng, Professor and Dean of School of Public Policy and Management of Tsinghua University and Executive Director of Institute for Sustainable Development Goals of Tsinghua University (TUSDG), released the "Research Report on ESG Rating System for Local Governments in China (2023)", which was sponsored by SynTao Green Finance and Moody's. The research team conducted ESG rating for 72 cities and 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, and found that the average ESG level of the 72 cities was generally favourable, but regional differences were obvious; the ESG ratings of most provinces were concentrated in the grade A and grade BBB. As a next step, Prof. Zhu suggests continuing to promote the research and practice of ESG ratings for local governments and encouraging the participation of multiple actors in improving China's ESG ecosystem.