The "China (Chongqing)-US Investment and Trade Virtual Fair", was successfully held virtually in Chongqing, New York, and Washington DC on March 18, 2021. The meeting was jointly conducted by Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Representative Office in the United States, China Construction Bank (“CCB”) New York Branch and Chongqing Branch. The meeting invited the Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China, General Manager of International Business, the General manager of International Business Department of CCB Head Office, Heads of CCB’s New York Branch and Chongqing Branch, executives of Sino-US sustainable energy and manufacturing companies, executives of US and Chinese enterprises, industry policy experts, etc.
Zhang Zhikui, Director of
the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, opened his speech by
identifying that Chongqing is an important strategic platform for the
development of the western China, which has been a unique pioneer in “ opening
up” China and important in the national regional development. “The United
States has always been Chongqing's most important trading partner and source of
foreign investment. The city welcomes American investors to continue to
transact businesses and invest in construction projects here, so as to share
the great development opportunities in Chongqing. The government will
effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of foreign
enterprises, continue to provide accurate and high-quality services, and work in
close cooperation with all parties to achieve win-win results”.
Mr. Zhao Zhenge, Chief
Representative of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade in
the United States, presented that China provides a huge market and attracting
business opportunities for foreign entrepreneurs including the United States.
The China Council for the Promotion of International Trade is ready and willing
to work closely with the business communities of the two countries to actively
build more pragmatic economic and trade exchange platforms, promote exchanges
between China and the United States, and facilitate the businesses of the two
countries in new energy, automobiles and accessories, and agricultural food,
etc.
Dr. Harley Seyedin, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China, introduced the “2021 China Business Environment White Paper” which was recently released by his organization. According to the report, while China's economy, like the rest of the major global economies, faced some challenges in 2020, foreign investors continue to be optimistic about the Chinese market. The vast majority of the Chambers companies indicated that the overall return on investment in China in 2020 was positive, and significantly higher than the overall return on investment globally. Dr. Harley believes that only by deepening mutually beneficial discussions and establishing trade and cooperation relations can we achieve a win-win future for the Sino-US economy.
Sun Jianbo, General Manager of the International Business Department of CCB, emphasized the bank has always and will continue to be committed to providing professional financial services for Sino-US trade and investment, and promoting mutually beneficial cooperation between companies in both China and US. Since its establishment in 2009, CCB New York branch has actively engaged partnering with local companies in the US market leveraging the CCB's global network to provide customers with diversified and efficient financial products and services, successfully accomplishing its role as the US bridge and conduit in promoting Sino-US’s economic and trade cooperation. The primary objective of our "Virtual Fair" is to provide a platform to facilitate expansion of cross-border investment and trade through virtual display, virtual deal matching and virtual negotiation.
At the end of 2019, in
response to the pain points of information asymmetry and high transaction costs
in cross-border transaction scenarios, CCB innovatively launched the "CCB
Match Plus", which is a cross-border intelligent digital matching platform
globally with application of big data, artificial intelligence, cloud computing
and other financial technologies. Leveraging CCB Group's advantages in global
presence and full licenses, the platform offers comprehensive financial service
solutions to its clients globally. In just one year, the number registered
users of "CCB Match Plus" platform has reached 60,000, which
represent extensive connections with domestic and international business
associations, governments, as well as investment and trade promotion agencies.
There are more than 1,500 Chongqing enterprises have registered in CCB’s
platforms. The platform also has embedded links in Chongqing’s “Single Window
for International Trade” to facilitate “one-stop service” to enterprises.
CCB’s responded to the new
way to execute business in 2020 by
integrating the "digital exhibition" service scenarios to help
companies build digital exhibition halls and provide online support such as
live broadcast, remote promotion, and video conferences. Since May last year,
more than 60 cross-border virtual exhibition have been held for more than 6,000
companies across 28 countries and regions, all of which were welcomed by local
enterprises, business associations and government agencies. This "Virtual
Fair" held on CCB’s virtual platform will contribute to facilitate both
Chinese and American companies to further expand the market and business
opportunities.
The "Virtual
Fair" lasted for two days, and invited more than 70 Chinese and American
companies including US Fortune 500 companies and high-end individual customers.
The exhibition focused on five major industries including automobile and
motorcycle, medical and chemical industry, new energy, financial institutions,
and study abroad and tourism, with more than 10 online meetings arranged. The
response to the event has been extremely positive as participants expressed
their appreciation to CCB and interests in Chongqing’s location and opening
advantages, which would help to open up market channels in not only the western
region but the entire Chinese economy, and actively seek opportunities in trade
import and export, investment promotion, and technical cooperation.