By Peng li, Editor

The second Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade (WCIFIT) exhibit was held in Chongqing from May 16 to 19.
The fair covered an exhibition area of 110,000 square meters with the attendance of 280 Fortune Global 500 companies, 1,900 transnational corporations, as well as 22,000 guests from 57 countries and regions.
The fair had eight thematic exhibition areas to showcase western China cooperation, international cooperation, the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, free trade zones, regional cooperation, transnational corporations, State-owned companies, and famous private-owned companies.

Lim Fang Hao a business operation executive with WiseNet.

One company presented at the fair, WiseNet HR consultancy came to Chongqing one year ago. “Since China has started the Belt and Road Initiative, and Chongqing is the starting place for part of the development, it was natural that we would set up here,” said Lim Fang Hao, a business operation executive with WiseNet. “We have the ability to recruit candidates from overseas and we think overseas talent is essential to this increasingly global marketplace. It’s important to cultivate diverse teams.”

Another company attended the exhibition, ChildFirst first came to Chongqing 12 years ago from Singapore and started an art kindergarten. “At first we weren’t sure how well the kindergarten would do, but the first kindergarten filled up almost immediately, we knew we were onto something,” said chief executive officer and founder of ChildFirst, Richard Yen. Now the school boasts 16 centers in Chongqing. “Younger parents feel that education methods need to move with the times and the exam-based approach no longer best serves students.” With this specific demand in mind, ChildFirst has sought to educate children in 3 different languages— Chinese, English, and coding.

Chief executive officer and founder ChildFirst Richard Yen

“AI will be a disruptive force in the near future and children need to speak the language of robots,” said Yen. Another focus of kindergarten is to teach children human intelligence(HI). HI is a set of skills that cannot be easily replaced by automation and that include, emotional intelligence, moral judgment, leadership, and creativity. The school currently has 3000 students in Chongqing, 7000 in China and is expanding. Whatsmore, the school aims to keep the student-teacher ratio low to provide the best quality education, a 6 to 1 now in ChildFirst. As a program between China and Singapore, ChildFirst is just an example of companies bridging borders along with governments working together.