On April 22, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Wenzhou Municipal Committee (International Chamber of Commerce) held the Oujiang Forum on "RCEP and Business Opportunities for Wenzhou Enterprises".
At the forum, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Wenzhou Municipal Committee (International Chamber of Commerce) and 33 chambers of commerce jointly issued the "Initiation on Jointly Promoting Wenzhou and RCEP Regional Economic and Trade Cooperation", advising Wenzhou enterprises to fully recognize the new opportunities RCEP brings to Wenzhou and strive to strengthen industrial cooperation and expand trade and investment, give full play to the role of enterprises as the main force in economic and trade cooperation, and promote economic and trade exchanges and common prosperity between Wenzhou and member states. The organizations that have jointly launched cooperation initiatives are:
China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Wenzhou Municipal Committee
Wenzhou Municipal Federation of Industry and Commerce
Wenzhou Municipal International Chamber of Commerce
Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce
Wenzhou Foreign Trade Enterprise Association
Wenzhou Municipal Council for the Promotion of International Trade (ASEAN) Investment Trade and Research Center
ASEAN-Wenzhou Gneral Chamber of Commerce
Wenzhou Belt and Road Enterprise Development Association
Wenzhou Municipal Wenzhou Business Development Association
Indonesia-Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce
Malaysian Chinese and Overseas Chinese Association
Wenzhou Hometown Association of the Philippines
Thailand-Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce
Thailand-Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce
Singapore-Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce
Cambodia-Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce
Vietnam Long Jiang Industrial Park
Japan-Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce
Wenzhou-Korean Chamber of Commerce
New Zealand-Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce
Zhejiang (Wenzhou) Electrical Industry Association
Wenzhou Shoe Leather Industry Association
Wenzhou Garment Association
Wenzhou Automobile and Motorcycle Parts Industry Association
Wenzhou Pump & Valve Industry Association
Wenzhou Optical Association
Wenzhou Furniture Association
Wenzhou Hardware Association
Wenzhou Lighter Industry Association
Wenzhou Trade Apparel Association
Wenzhou Children's Shoes Association
Wenzhou Personal Care Electrical Appliance Industry Association
Wenzhou Rubber Association.
On April 22, before the "RCEP and Business Opportunities of Wenzhou Enterprises" Oujiang Forum held in the Great Hall of the People in Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Provincial Committee Member and Secretary of Wenzhou Municipal Committee Chen Weijun and Mayor Yao Gaoyuan met successively with the Executive President of the China-ASEAN Business Council. Chairman Xu Ningning said that the Wenzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government attaches great importance to seizing the opportunity of RCEP and has many advantages to enhance cooperation with the member states of the RCEP Agreement, and hopes to cooperate closely with the China-ASEAN Business Council and the RCEP Industrial Cooperation Committee. Xu Ningning put forward specific suggestions on industry docking and cooperation between Wenzhou City and the relevant member states of the RCEP Agreement. During the meeting and talking, the two sides reached a lot of consensus.
At the forum, Yin Zhijun, Vice Mayor of Wenzhou City, and Lin Wei, Vice President of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Zhejiang Provincial Committee, delivered speeches successively. Xu Ningning made a keynote speech and put forward relevant suggestions on Wenzhou enterprises entering RCEP and answered their concerns.
Xu Ningning suggested that Wenzhou should take advantage of location advantages, industrial advantages, and Wenzhou business channels to further deepen mutually beneficial cooperation on the basis of years of economic, trade and cultural exchanges and cooperation with ASEAN. Relevant parties in Wenzhou must grasp the situation, take a series of measures, and carefully connect them to better integrate into the bilateral and multilateral cooperation between China and ASEAN.
"Wenzhou must give full play to the role of industry associations, actively connect with industry associations with RCEP countries, strengthen industrial cooperation, and create a new industrial chain after the market opens." Xu Ningning said.
Xu Ningning suggested that Wenzhou enterprises should develop steadily and far-reachingly in ASEAN. In addition to enhancing the company's own strength and innovation capabilities, it is also necessary to abide by local laws and culture, and to integrate into the local society in a friendly manner.
During the meeting, Xu Ningning held talks with leaders of relevant Wenzhou industry associations to clarify the direction and path of strengthening industry cooperation in the next step.
Relevant Wenzhou government departments, industry associations, overseas (Zhejiang) Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce and representatives of entrepreneurs participated in the forum. The Zhejiang News client broadcasted the whole process, and the number of Internet views reached more than 130,000 by the end of the conference. The forum also has video sub-venues in Indonesia and Thailand.
On April 22, Xu Ningning was also invited to inspect Tsingshan Holding Group. The company was established in 1988 and is currently the world's largest stainless steel manufacturer. In 2013, under the guidance of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative, Tsingshan Industrial invested in the construction of the China-Indonesia Comprehensive Industrial Park Qingshan Park in Indonesia. In 2020, a total of 26 companies will be attracted to the park, with a completed investment of US$6.65 billion.
In 2020, Wenzhou's exports to the RCEP agreement member states increased by 37.3%, an increase of 23.1 percentage points higher than the average level of Zhejiang Province.
