On 15 September 2021, the '11th China (Sichuan)-South Asia and Southeast Asia Business Leaders Summit and the 3rd Sichuan Southbound Opening-up International Cooperation Matchmaking Conference' was held in Chengdu. The summit was hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), the People's Government of Sichuan Province, the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the China-ASEAN Centre, and organized by the Sichuan CCPIT and the Xiamen Office of the People's Government of Sichuan Province. CCPIT Vice Chairman Ke Liangdong and Sichuan Provincial Party Committee Deputy Secretary Deng Xiaogang delivered speeches respectively and jointly unveiled the 'Sichuan Liaison Office of the China-South Asia Business Council.' SAARC Chamber of Commerce President Ali Malik, China-ASEAN Centre Secretary-General Chen Dehai, and the guest-of-honor country Pakistan's Ambassador to China, H.E. Moin ul Haque, delivered speeches online, and Sichuan CCPIT President Huang Li chaired the meeting. More than 300 representatives from 22 embassies, consulates, business associations and trade-and-investment promotion agencies of 15 South Asian and Southeast Asian countries such as Pakistan, Nepal, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Singapore, as well as relevant Sichuan departments, research institutes and universities, law firms and other industry bodies and enterprises, attended the meeting online and offline.
Themed 'Opportunity, Connectivity, Cooperation,' the summit aimed to accelerate integration into the Belt and Road Initiative, thoroughly implement the 'four-directional expansion, all-region opening-up' strategy, highlight 'southbound' opening-up and cooperation, and help build a new pattern of Sichuan's opening to the outside world. Especially against the backdrop of normalized COVID-19 prevention and control, it fully explored corridor construction and integrated development under the new opportunities of the signing of the RCEP free-trade agreement and the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing twin-city economic circle, promoting economic and trade exchanges within the region to a new level, opening up new space for economic development, adding new momentum to regional economic recovery and growth, and promoting the deep integration of industrial chains, supply chains and value chains within the region.
1. Highlighting foresight and innovative development
The summit thoroughly implemented the spirit of the Ninth Plenary Session of the 11th Sichuan Provincial Party Committee and innovated the meeting format, specially inviting expert representatives from governments, chambers of commerce, universities, finance, standardization and other institutions of countries within the region to hold a thematic discussion around 'focusing on opportunities and challenges, deepening cooperation and development,' offering insightful views on how to seize opportunities, leverage strengths, strengthen connectivity, and promote comprehensive and sustainable integrated development of the regional economy. Representatives said that this summit was a pragmatic measure to continue leveraging the platform role of the 'China (Sichuan)-South Asia and Southeast Asia Business Leaders Summit,' deepen exchanges among the business communities within the region, jointly innovate ways of serving enterprises, and promote multilateral and bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
2. Demonstrating a high-end nature, focusing on China-Pakistan
Taking the opportunity of the 70th anniversary of China-Pakistan diplomatic relations, the summit invited Pakistan as the guest-of-honor country, made full use of the multilateral and bilateral business cooperation mechanism platform, and held the 'China-Pakistan Business Council Annual Meeting' during the summit, to promote Sichuan's accelerated integration into the 'Belt and Road' and 'China-Pakistan Economic Corridor' construction, effectively leverage the bridge-and-link function of the Sichuan Liaison Office of the China-Pakistan Business Council, build a national key platform for economic and trade cooperation with Pakistan, and highlight Sichuan's leading-edge advantages and proactive role in promoting China-Pakistan economic and trade cooperation. Important guests including Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce President Mian Nasser, China Chamber of International Commerce Deputy Secretary-General Zhang Yi, Pakistan Senate Defence Committee Chairman Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Commercial Counsellor of the Embassy in Pakistan Li Yong, Commercial Counsellor of the Pakistan Embassy in China Badar uz Zaman, and Sichuan CCPIT Vice President Lei Xuejie attended the event and delivered speeches. Supporting events such as a China-Pakistan cooperation photo exhibition and a Pakistan exhibition were also held. At the summit, Ambassador Moin said that Pakistan would actively pay attention to the development opportunities of the Chengdu-Chongqing twin-city economic zone, cooperate for mutual benefit in fields such as the digital economy and e-commerce, and work together to build a China-Pakistan community of shared future in the new era.
3. Presenting comprehensiveness, upgrading and improving
The summit was further upgraded and improved, extending the platform's functions from trade and investment promotion to fields such as culture, tourism, logistics and standardization, releasing the platform's comprehensive effects from multiple angles and in all dimensions. The summit joined hands with the Xiamen Office of the Sichuan Provincial Government to incorporate the 3rd Sichuan Southbound Opening-up International Cooperation Matchmaking Conference, further broadening Sichuan's southbound opening-up and cooperation channels and effectively helping overseas Chinese merchants integrate into the 'dual circulation' pattern. Supporting events such as the 'China (Sichuan)-South Asia and Southeast Asia Opportunities and Sichuan Southbound Opening-up Opportunities Investment Environment Promotion Conference' and the 'Pakistan Food Market Access Training Session' were also held during the summit, widely publicized to the business community within the region, promoting economic and trade exchanges within the region to a new level, opening up new space for economic development, enhancing the platform's international communication capability, and highlighting its features to amplify its functional effects.
4. Highlighting pragmatism and precise matchmaking
In the lead-up to the summit, in response to the specific needs of key South Asian and Southeast Asian countries' business associations and Sichuan's export-oriented enterprises, the Chengdu Representative Office and Shanghai Representative Office of the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation were arranged to make in-depth visits to Mianyang Changhong Company and Qishiyuan Company to carry out investment and trade promotion activities, using the summit platform to relieve difficulties for enterprises and act as matchmaker, genuinely serving local economic development. At the summit, an unveiling ceremony was held for the 'Sichuan Liaison Office of the China-South Asia Business Council,' which will bring new opportunities for Sichuan to deeply integrate into the 'Belt and Road' construction and further promote economic and trade cooperation between Sichuan and the South Asian region, building a broader platform for economic and trade exchanges and cooperation between bilateral enterprises. The summit strengthened resource integration and jointly built a platform with the 3rd Sichuan Southbound Opening-up International Cooperation Matchmaking Conference, further leveraging Fujian's advantages of being located at the open frontier of China's southeastern coast, its international and domestic port routes, and its rich overseas-Chinese-merchant resources, to further expand the summit's international and domestic influence.
