More than 200 guests attended an event in London on Monday to mark the 40th anniversary of the Bank of China's London Chinatown Branch.

Among the attendees were China's Ambassador to the United Kingdom Liu Xiaoming, Minister of State at the Department for International Development Lord Bates, the Statutory Deputy Mayor of London Joanne McCartney, and the general manager of Bank of China London branch, Fang Wenjian.

Speaking at the ceremony, Liu said: "Forty years on, as China deepens reform and opens wider to the outside world, the Bank of China has branches all over the world. Such success epitomizes the great achievements of China's reform and opening-up.

"After 40 years of intensive cultivation in the British market and assiduous service to the local community, Bank of China has become a welcome feature in the landscape of Chinatown. Hand-in-hand with its British partners, it has made considerable contribution to local prosperity and development."

Bank of China has been a pioneer in the internationalization of China's banking institutions. In 1929, Bank of China set up the London agency in the world financial center of London, which was the earliest overseas branch of Bank of China and even China's modern banking industry.

In August 1978, in order to better serve Chinese visitors and the local Chinese community, the first London office was established in the West End. This was upgraded to the West End Branch in 1992, and later it changed its name to London Chinatown Branch.

As China-UK relations continue to deepen, Liu said, financial cooperation between two countries has become deeper, more diversified and more intensive.

In 2016, the Bank of China London Branch was entrusted by the Ministry of Finance of China to issue RMB sovereign bond. Also that year, Bank of China listed the first Green Bond at the London Stock Exchange.

Fang, who is also the chief executive officer of Bank of China (UK) Limited, said: "In the past 40 years, the Chinatown Branch not only witnessed the process of China's reform and opening-up, but also benefited from this process.

"By leveraging Bank of China's global networks and integrated platforms, it has developed from a small office of only 10 employees to a multi-functional branch offering comprehensive products and services to our clients."

The Chinatown Branch has been an active member of the London Chinatown community. It has supported London's Chinese New Year celebrations for 17 consecutive years, promoting Chinese culture for crowds of up to 700,000 spectators in what has now become the largest Chinese New Year celebration outside Asia.