Merlin Swire delivers a speech at the 2019 China Development Forum.

In March, John Swire & Sons (HK) Limited Chairman, Merlin Swire, represented the Swire group at the 20th annual session of the China Development Forum ("CDF") in Beijing.

Over the course of the three-day forum, Merlin took part in a panel discussion entitled "City Clusters: A Driving Force for High Quality Development" and shared his thoughts on how city clusters can yield benefits through wider infrastructure integration and institutional coordination. Merlin was also invited to speak at the CDF's "Guangzhou: A New Chapter of Opening-up" roundtable, hosted by the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government. Building on the group's long history in the Greater Bay Area, he said that Swire "looks forward to continuing to work with the government to improve and develop our businesses in the region".

The CDF takes place immediately after "Two Sessions" – the annual sessions of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference – and is recognised as China's most significant business and development forum with the objective of "Engaging with the World for Common Prosperity".