The first Huangpu International Business Media and Think Tank Forum kicked off in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou on November 2, as a prelude to China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world’s first national-level import-themed exhibition to be held in Shanghai.
The forum, organized by the Publicity Department of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee, focusing on furthering reform and opening-up and sharing economic development, attracted hundreds of participating guests from political, media, academic and business communities. Gathering in Guangzhou’s Huangpu District / Guangzhou Economic and Technological Development District (GETDD), those present appreciated the unique and promising land of reform and opening up and witnessed Guangzhou’s deep involvement in the global economy as well as its endeavors and achievements of transforming from a city of trade into one renowned for innovation.
“Guangzhou, which combines tradition and modernity, has become one of the most attractive and dynamic cities in China. This event, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up policy, demonstrates Guangdong and Guangzhou as the best example,” noted former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, adding that “China has many great proposals, including the Belt and Road Initiative, showing the willingness to communicate and connect.”
Guangzhou is the frontier of opening up and global connections, and Huangpu boasts the largest number of multinationals and the first destination for them to invest in China. “Huangpu has shifted from a wasteland with mere banana trees into a vibrant and innovative district, where high-tech industries cluster and the real economy enjoys robust development,” said Zhou Yawei, Party secretary of Huangpu.
The millennial-old Port of Huangpu was used to advance the Canton System (or literally, the single port commerce system in China) for a century. In 1984 Guangzhou was appointed as one of the first open coastal cities, which led to the birth of GETDD as the first batch of national development zones. Today, it has been the main venue for Guangzhou to grow its real economy and strategic emerging industries and it is the innovation base of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Huangpu District is home to 176 investment projects by Fortune Global 500 companies. Its incoming overseas capital, in place or on contract, accounts for one-third of the city’s total. Since last year, a host of major projects ranging from LG’s generation 8.5 OLED panel manufacturing plant, BeiGene, a global biopharmaceutical company, to GE’s bio-campus has been settled in Huangpu.
China has been committed to expanding its partnerships with other countries, from traditional markets like America, Europe and Japan to emerging markets including Latin America, Africa and Asia. Guangzhou, with its innovation-driven development, has become the first and foremost window for the international community to observe China’s opening-up and global cooperation.
Guangzhou, sharing China’s development dividends with the global community, unswervingly steps up efforts to go global and bring in prime resources from overseas. As of now, Guangzhou houses 34,000 foreign-funded enterprises from more than 130 countries and regions, with the overseas capital in actual use exceeding USD 92.2 billion.
Starting from the 40th anniversary, Guangzhou will adopt more measures to further reform and opening up and inject more impetus for innovation, said Zhou.
Such strategic emerging industries as artificial intelligence, biomedicine, new energy and materials have been driving Guangzhou to deepen international cooperation.” In a new round of reform and opening up, we should promote development through reform and generate vitality by opening up. In doing this, we aim to become a Fortune Global 500 company by 2020,” said Li Chuyuan, president of Guangzhou Pharmaceuticals Corporation, whose annual revenue exceeded 100 billion yuan (USD 14.5 million).
A higher-level of opening up is vigorously taking place across China, including Guangzhou.
The 124th Canton Fair concludes on November 4, just one day before the unveiling of CIIE in Shanghai, which, to the world, is an incessant effort for China to embrace the new round of opening up.
“China furthers its opening up to the global markets, and it is now more quality-oriented. Such a trend will forge an internal force powering China to enjoy sustainable development and to further press ahead with economic globalization,” said Zhen Bijian, head of China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy.
After the in-depth exchanges at the forum, participants agreed that reform and opening up have not only transformed China but had a bearing on the entire world.” In the past 40 years, China’s economic growth has reached over 80 times. In an era where different groups of people all share the benefits of economic globalization, the world hopes to partner with China,” said Michael Brunt, COO of The Economist.
Source: The Publicity Department of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee
