The first China-ASEAN Online Trade Fair kicked off on Friday, September 11, 2020 on its official website (www.guoao2020.com), and will last for three days until September 13. The theme of the online trade fair is "World is but a little place, Reach Business Opportunities at Your Fingertips". Based on the bilateral trade activities among China and ASEAN countries, the organizer aims to create a long-term platform for multinational companies to communicate business opportunities and display their products, and to boost international trade and economic recovery in the post-pandemic era.
The time to start a new model for international trade
This year, affected by the COVID-19, the global economic structure has been reshaped, especially international trade and investment have been severely impacted, and a large number of international exhibitions, international business visits and study tours have been cancelled.
The China-ASEAN Online Trade Fair was launched in responding to extraordinary challenges raised by COVID-19. With multiple innovations, the organizer of the platform wishes to contribute strength to international economic and trade cooperation and becoming a key move in the initial year of China-ASEAN online economic cooperation.
Lim Gait Tong, president of the China-ASEAN Business Association, said in the keynote speech that the more complex the situation is, the more the two sides should strengthen cooperation and jointly seize opportunities and meet challenges. Lim said, "The pandemic is only a catalyst for online business conferences. Internet plus traditional international trade is an inevitable trend that will greatly reduce the cost of international trading."
File photo: Lim Gait Tong, president of the China-ASEAN Business Association.
Zhang Xiaoli, president of the China Shippers'Association, also expressed that he would like to take this opportunity to actively build a long-term exchange platform between China and ASEAN, share the development opportunities of the "Belt and Road", further deepen economic and trade investment cooperation, and in the meantime to enhance trade convenience, steadily promote the interconnection between China and the ASEAN markets to achieve complementary advantages and common development.
Business Leaders Discuss the Future of International Trade
Guest Speakers and participants of the online trade fair conducted in-depth discussions on various topics, including the investment environment, investment policies, cross-border trade, international taxation in China and ASEAN countries, and the new future of international trade.
Chai Haitao, the director of China Center for International Economic Exchanges, and former director of Policy Research Office in China's Ministry of Commerce said that the economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN in the post-epidemic period is promising. "Regional economic integration is becoming a new feature in the process of globalization. This will bring new opportunities for regional economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN."
Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) Chairman Dato' Abdul Majid introduced that China is one of the largest investors in Malaysia, with a total investment of US$3.74 billion in 2019. More Chinese companies are welcome to participate in the economic construction of Malaysia.
Henry Lim Bon Liong, chairman of the Federation of Fillipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce & Industry, said that to match China's "One Belt One Road" initiative with the Philippines' "Build! Build! Build!" program (BBB) will be a manifestation of enhanced cooperation and common development between the two countries. "I believe that after the pandemic time, the cooperation in the fields of economy, trade and investment between the two countries will maintain the momentum of sustained and rapid development, and the prospects will be bright."
Li Suet Man, Chairman of the SME Center of the Singapore Manufacturers Association, gave a detailed introduction to Singapore's listing policies and procedures. The Singapore Exchange is featured with metrics like high refinancing, high valuation, and high price-earnings ratio, etc., which will help Chinese companies to enter into the international markets.
Dato Michael Kang, the chairman of Malaysia's Small and Medium Enterprises Association, stated that Malaysian SMEs are the "locomotive" of the country's economy, which contribute nearly 68% of employment opportunities and 38% of GDP. He hopes to help Malaysian SMEs to enter into the large Chinese market through this trade fair.
Datuk Tony Khor, the President of the Malaysian Automotive Association, highly praised the Chinese automobile industry, believing that the entry of Chinese automobiles into the ASEAN market is just around the corner, and expressed his willingness to establish an automobile alliance to share business opportunities in the ASEAN automobile market.
Dr. Liu Shuang, an international tax expert and general manager of China Tax International, shared the opportunities and challenges in the context of international tax reform, reminding international trading companies to attach particular importance to tax issues, study local tax policies and make tax planning in advance.
Li Li, deputy dean of the DHGate Research Institute (DHgate.com), explained the new opportunities for digital trade. Affected by the pandemic, the online demand in the foreign trade sector has skyrocketed, and e-commence companies will seize the opportunity.
Dato' Lewré Lew, the Founder of "MIDAXU"digital platform and famous shoe brand Lewre, shared the importance of establishing an excellent brand and shaping the influence of the brand in international trade to maximize the value of a company.
Other guest speakers who are invited in the opening session are: Chen Qixiong, president of eBusiness Association Malaysia; Zhou Min, vice president of FineEx, a Shanghai based logistics and supply chain company; Zhang Zijing, founder of International Logistics Platform AILA; Wu Houwen, founder and CEO of Tourplus; and Zhou Nan, the deputy general manager of easyshipping.cn, a Tianjin based International logistics e-commerce platform.
