Financial conglomerate CITIC Group released an initiative with 13 international business partners, on Wednesday, to strengthen green cooperation and advance sustainable development.

The initiative was released during the 2024 ESG Global Leaders Conference held in Shanghai from Oct 16 to 18. CITIC Group served as one organizer for the conference.

Leading multinational companies and organizations including Canadian mineral resources, financial and technology conglomerate Ivanhoe Capital Corporation, Brazilian niobium product and technology provider CBMM, Thailand's conglomerate CP Group, among others, have jointly released the initiative.

The initiative aims to deepen cooperation in growing into responsible corporations, green and low-carbon development, technology innovation, improving people's livelihood and well-being, achieving common development, strengthening stakeholder communication, building an international ESG governance mechanism, and deepening exchanges and cooperation for sustainable development. CITIC Group also entered into cooperation agreements and memorandum of understanding with Republic of Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna JSC and Japan's multinational aluminum group UACJ Group to advance cooperation and exchanges between Chinese and foreign companies, with sustainable development as one major principle.

According to Zhang Wenwu, general manager of CITIC Group, they will step up ESG international cooperation by focusing on green finance, green industries and social welfare while landing more iconic projects.

CITIC Construction, a subsidiary of CITIC Group, also signed on Wednesday $5.6 billion worth of engineering agreements with Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia to carry out infrastructure construction including highways, medical care and agriculture for the countries taking part in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Olivier Desmarais, chairman of Canada China Business Council, said at the Wednesday event that China has made a lot of pioneering efforts concerning green, low-carbon and sustainable development. The Chinese and Canadian governments should further consolidate their cooperation to better address global issues such as climate change, he said.