Mr. Zhang Xiaoqiang, Permanent Vice-Chairman and CEO of CCIEE Participates in the Annual Meeting of the New Champions, Summer Dovas 2016

On June 27, Mr. Zhang Xiaoqiang, Permanent Vice-Chairman and CEO of CCIEE participated in the Annual Meeting of the New Champions 2016 in Tianjin, also known as the Summer Dovas. The meeting, which follows the development trend of the new round technological revolution and industrial change and is themed of “The Fourth Industrial Revolution: The Power of Transformation”, is aimed at developing thoughts and building consensus for the global economic restructuring and upgrading. Mr. Zhang attended a series of events including the opening ceremony, China's Outbound Investment: Its Global Ambitions Forum, Luncheon of China Council, Innovative Eco-System Forum，and met with Mr. Yorihiko Kojima, Honorary Chairman of Mitsubishi Corporation, and Mr. Zhao Haishan, Vice Mayor of Tianjin respectively.

On the China’s Outbound Investment Forum, Mr. Zhang Xiaoqiang pointed out that the Chinese enterprises have accelerated the pace of overseas investment since the international financial crisis, which mainly resulted from the opportunities of lower prices of international assets and also the enhanced capabilities of international operation and comprehensive competitiveness of the Chinese enterprises. Brexit might have some short-term impact on international market, however, it is hard to say that it would have any substantial impact on China's overall development and its outbound investment.

On the Innovation Ecosystem Forum, Mr. Zhang Xiaoqiang said that the innovation-driven development is the key to achieve sustainability in China. Under the five-word philosophy of development, that is, innovative, coordinated, green, open, and shared development, government bodies, research institutions and the public are three parties for innovative eco-system. The government should improve the relevant legal and policy frameworks, and undertake the responsibility of basic scientific research and nonprofit research. In a market economy, enterprises are the principal bodies for technological innovation. Only the vitality of enterprises in technological innovation continues to glow and constantly enhance, can the whole scientific and technological achievements be genuinely transferred into productivity and products to benefit economy and society. Technological innovation is the core, but not all, innovations in institution, culture, business model and management organization are also required. Science and technology know no borders. China's innovation should be more open, including enhancing the international cooperation in scientific research.

On the China Council Luncheon, Mr. Zhang Xiaoqiang reviewed the previous activities since the establishment of the China Council, which had not only deepened communication and understanding between China and the world, but also made the Council itself more vibrant. The Council has focused its work on innovation and has been doing research on China’s innovation ecosystem. The report has been basically completed, which is made up of three parts including China’s innovation ecosystem, policy recommendations and best practices.  The report, which is based on a lot of investigations and comparative analysis, introduces the significant progress that China has made and the valuable experience some enterprises have acquired in recent years. It also proposed to give better play to the role of science and technology, entrepreneurs and SMEs in innovation, further reform China’s innovation management system, and continue to make efforts at innovation personnel training, innovation achievements transferring into productivity, and intellectual property protection. The China Council members further discussed and supplemented the contents of the report.

At the meeting with Mr. Yorihiko Kojima, both sides exchanged views on Mitsubishi’s development in China and prospect of China’s economy. Mr. Zhang Xiaoqiang briefed on the work of de-capacity, de-leverage and de-stocking, cutting down cost and shoring up areas of weakness，which are the social development priorities in 2016 put forward at the Central Economic Work Conference. Under the New Normal, both the foreign and Chinese enterprises are faced with the same challenges and opportunities, and they should grasp the competition initiative. Mr. Kojima expressed his confidence in the development of Mitsubishi in China, and committed to further promote Sino-Japanese business cooperation through complementary advantages.

At the meeting with Mr. Zhao Haishan, Vice Mayor of Tianjin, both reviewed the research cooperation Between CCIEE and Tianjin. Mayor Zhao said they would seize such important historical opportunities as coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region and Tianjin Free Trade Zone, take advantage of the Davos platform to exchange views with business and academic communities, create opportunities for multilateral cooperation and further deepen cooperation with CCIEE.