SBS Holding the Opening Ceremony of Seminar on Trade Facilitation Cooperation for “Belt and Road” Countries

      On the night of September 17, 2021, the opening ceremony of the “Seminar on Trade Facilitation Cooperation for “Belt and Road” Countries”, sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and undertaken by the MOFCOM Training Base for International Business Officials (Shanghai), was successfully held online. Liu Beimin, researcher from the Foreign Economic Cooperation Department of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce and Chen Wei, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of International Education, SBS, attended the opening ceremony.

       According to Liu Beimin, the “Belt and Road” Initiative, proposed in the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration, has been applauded by many countries across the globe, and attracted the world’s attention. China has signed 205 cooperation agreements concerning the co-construction of the “Belt and Road” with more than 171 countries and international organizations. Together they have launched more than 2,000 projects. Upholding the spirit of the ancient Silk Road, the “Belt and Road” Initiative has turned from a Chinese initiative into a global initiative, and become a great practice of “building a community with a shared future for mankind”. Liu Beimin expressed her hope that, in this background, all the trainees would actively seize this great opportunity to experience the achievements made by Shanghai in building Shanghai International Trade Center, promote the strengthening of exchanges and the deepening of pragmatic cooperation between “Belt and Road” countries, and contribute to trade facilitation cooperation between them.

       Chen Wei said that SBS had given full consideration to the demands of the trainees from different countries and regions, and adopted the level-by-level communication modes of virtual display, expert explanation, and Q&A to share its practical experience and research results with the trainees from the following aspects: the history and achievements of China’s economic opening-up; the construction of Shanghai International Trade Center; the development history of China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, China International Import Expo, processing trade, and industry development zones; and the innovation and reform of theForeign Investment Law of the People’s Republic of China. The seminar offered a great opportunity for developing countries to learn from each other, discuss their development bottlenecks and problems, and jointly cope with new environments and new challenges.

      Ms. King Quenari, Head of the Product Development Department of the General Administration of Domestic Trade under the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia, gave a speech on behalf of all trainees. She said that, considering the importance of trade for economies, studying China’s successful cases would help developing countries calibrate their development, and introduce China’s knowledge and experience into their own national scenarios. She also expressed her firm belief that the seminar would be a rich experience for all trainees, and that, by learning from each other through discussions, the trainees would be able to broaden their cultural horizons and further improve their trade theories and practice level.

         The 14-day seminar received a total of 77 government officials from 12 countries, including Azerbaijan, Cambodia, Cuba, Ghana, Kenya, Kiribati, Mongolia, Oman, Panama, Slovenia, Venezuela and Belarus.

Writer: Guan Rui                 

Photographer: Shi Xiaomei     

Reviewer: Chen Wei            

Executive Editor: Tang Xinhui