Yunqi Capital | XTransfer Founder Deng Guobiao Attends the World Economic Forum in Davos

From January 15 to 19, the 2024 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting — also known as the "Winter Davos Forum" — took place in Davos, Switzerland. More than 2,800 representatives from over 120 countries and regions gathered under the theme "Rebuilding Trust" to explore the future of the global economy. Bill Deng, founder and CEO of XTransfer, participated in multiple sessions as the sole representative from a Chinese cross-border e-commerce company.

Yunqi Capital led XTransfer's angel round in 2017 and has continued to invest in subsequent rounds. At a time when cross-border B2B trade is becoming more deeply integrated and digitized, we believe the power of Chinese technological innovation will prove essential in shaping the new global trade landscape.

XTransfer founder and CEO Bill Deng was invited to participate in the Davos Forum

01 AI + Digitalized Risk Control, Serving Millions of Global Trade Enterprises

The World Economic Forum's Innovator Community invites "high-growth private companies valued at over $1 billion that are at the forefront of industry disruption and innovation" to join its Unicorn Community. As a member of this community, XTransfer was invited to the "Innovator Communities Welcome" event, where it shared insights on the industrial application of AI technology. Bill Deng noted, "Since founding XTransfer in 2017, we have continuously integrated AI with the foreign trade industry, developing products and services specifically designed to serve millions of trade enterprises."

In risk control, XTransfer has built and continuously upgraded an AI-driven digitalized anti-money laundering (AML) risk control system. By analyzing extensive user data and transaction behaviors, XTransfer employs AI algorithms to construct risk assessment models that identify potential risks and fraudulent activities, enhancing transaction security and accuracy. This ensures that cross-border transactions remain safe and compliant while delivering a more streamlined experience for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

02 Sole Chinese Enterprise Representative, Discussing New Challenges in Global Trade

On the third day of Davos, Bill Deng once again participated as the sole representative from a Chinese company in the World Economic Forum session "TradeTech's Trillion-Dollar Promise," joining Vincent Clerc, CEO of A.P. Moller-Maersk; Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade of the UAE; Megan Davies, Reuters Markets and Finance Editor; Deemah Al Yahya, Secretary-General of DCO; and Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan, to discuss how technological, regulatory, and business model innovations can address emerging challenges in global trade.

(From left to right: Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Bill Deng, Deemah Al Yahya, Vincent Clerc, Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Megan Davies)

Bill Deng stated: "XTransfer provides cross-border financial and risk control services to SMEs globally, with anti-money laundering being a critical component. We conduct risk assessments on each individual transaction to ensure that every capital flow is backed by legitimate and compliant trade documentation. Additionally, regulatory standards vary across jurisdictions. XTransfer's international services already cover more than 200 countries and regions, including Europe, the Americas, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America, which means we need to build professional teams in each country to engage with local regulators."

XTransfer has created an AI-driven AML risk control infrastructure, which serves as the foundation for ongoing enhancements to risk control efficiency. "Last year, we achieved order-free account crediting — meaning enterprises no longer need to provide trade documentation, as we can identify transaction risks directly, delivering an extremely streamlined experience for our clients."

Looking ahead, Bill Deng hopes to collaborate with new partners, including banks and regulators from various countries, to jointly address challenges and create new possibilities.

03 Invited to Multiple Regional Forums, Chinese Innovation in the Spotlight

Additionally, Bill Deng was invited to participate in several other Davos events, including sessions such as "An African Economy of Scale." Under the African Continental Free Trade Area, over 1.3 billion people are being connected into a single market, and Africa is emerging as a major player in global supply chains, unlocking new opportunities for the continent's further integration into global trade.

For Africa's foreign trade development, several constraints remain. For instance, dollar shortages and foreign exchange controls in some African countries make it difficult for African buyers to make payments to overseas sellers. Bill Deng noted, "As China's largest trading partner in Africa, we closely follow the development of African foreign trade. XTransfer is leveraging innovative technologies to create more favorable conditions for foreign trade ecosystems across African nations, thereby driving economic growth. Taking China-Africa trade as an example: when African buyers use XTransfer, we support them in depositing local African currencies into their XTransfer accounts, converting them to US dollars, and directly paying Chinese sellers' XTransfer accounts — enabling Chinese sellers to receive trade payments with great ease. Through this service, we provide significant convenience to both African buyers and Chinese sellers, solving end-to-end trade settlement challenges 100%."

That same day, Bill Deng was also invited to "A Conversation with Pham Minh Chinh, Prime Minister of Viet Nam," where he listened to remarks by Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh. Bill Deng commented, "'Innovation from China' is becoming an important force for global industrial prosperity. XTransfer will continue to invest in serving Vietnamese SMEs in foreign trade, sharing with businesses in Vietnam and around the world the remarkable achievements China has made in digital transformation and innovation."

Remarks by the Vietnamese Prime Minister; Bill Deng at far right

In 2023, XTransfer formally launched its international expansion. Guided by technology and innovation, it aims to empower SMEs in global foreign trade, strengthening trust and cooperation among micro, small, and medium enterprises across countries through concrete action. Over the past six-plus years, XTransfer has served as a technological bridge connecting major global financial institutions with SMEs, enabling the latter to access cross-border financial services on par with those enjoyed by large multinational corporations.