By Xinyi Li, iChongqing

As a key activity of the Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade (WCIFIT) this year, the 1st Belt and Road Initiative Annual Meeting of Overseas Chinese Businessmen Organizations, co-sponsored by All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese and Chongqing Municipal People’s Government, will be held on May 16 (2 p.m.-6 p.m.), 2019.

Nearly 200 overseas Chinese business representatives engaged in finance, science & technology, culture, environmental protection, energy, trade, construction, logistics, food, and other industries will attend the meeting. They will come from 30 countries and regions including the United States, Russia, the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Canada, Italy, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Denmark and Thailand.

The 1st Belt and Road Initiative Annual Meeting of Overseas Chinese Businessmen Organizations will settle down in Chongqing permanently

Five activities in the Annual Meeting

First of all, there will be a special report. Experts from the One Belt One Road Strategy Institute, Tsinghua University will present the latest policies and research results of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and share with attendees the ways to give full play to the advantages of overseas Chinese businessmen relying on the BRI in the context of economic globalization and deepening reform, thus boosting economic and trade cooperation between China and countries along the BRI. They will also share their ideas on how to encourage Chinese people at home and abroad to integrate into the BRI, help products, technologies, and services export and import advanced experience and quality capital, so as to deepen the engagement with the international community through a more open and diversified investment and financing framework.

Meanwhile, it will organize a sharing session, at which well-known overseas Chinese businessmen from different countries, industries, and fields, combined with their own experiences and practice, will share their ideas and feelings of participating in the BRI. The exchanges will involve such topics as struggles of these businesspeople, difficulties, and bottlenecks in the development of enterprises, gains and feelings brought by the BRI, and the development vision and cooperation intention of enterprises, thus enhancing the interaction, pertinence, and effectiveness of the activity.

Besides, at the promotion conference, China–Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity (CCI) Administrative Bureau will introduce the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor under the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity (CCI-ILSTC). Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce (FTZ) will introduce China (Chongqing) Pilot Free Trade Zone, and Chongqing Institute of Green and Intelligent Technology (CIGIT) of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) will release the latest scientific research results. All activities mentioned above will give overseas Chinese businesspeople a better understanding of Chongqing’s policies, environment, and scientific & technological development.

Afterward, it will organize an economic and trade fair, at which guests will have a overall understanding of the new appearance of Chongqing’s economic and social development as well as the economic and social development planning and industrial layout of each district or county in the city, enabling on-site overseas Chinese businessmen to learn about the latest news of investment in Chongqing in detail. In this way, exchanges between these guests and the participating districts or counties will be close and smooth, thus facilitating low-cost and efficient investment attraction.

It will organize an economic and trade fair, at which guests will have a comprehensive understanding of the new appearance of Chongqing’s economic and social development

Furthermore, the guests will be divided into two groups to conduct field visits in Hechuan and Wulong Districts. During the visits, they will have an all-around, multi-angle and in-depth understanding of the investment in intelligence and other aspects in Chongqing, and experience the phased achievements made by the city in the practice of the environmental protection concept that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets” and in the construction of “A Land of Natural Beauty, A City with Cultural Appeal”.

All-China Federation of Returned Overseas helps Chongqing to develop into an exemplary inland city of opening-up

On April 19, 2019, Chongqing Municipal People’s Government and All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese co-signed the Cooperation Agreement on Jointly Promoting the Construction of Chongqing as an Exemplary Inland City of Opening-up , opened a new chapter of ministry-city cooperation, built a new platform for expanding exchanges and cooperation, and helped Chongqing build itself into a talent center, expand overseas resources and conduct cultural exchanges with foreign countries.

According to the statistics, as of September 18, 2018, China has signed 150 BRI cooperation documents with 106 countries and 29 international organizations, covering countries in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the South Pacific region.

The Belt and Road Initiative Annual Meeting of Overseas Chinese Business Organizations will be held annually thereafter in Chongqing.