In order to implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, promote high-quality development and high-level opening to the outside world, with the support of the Chinese Embassy in Portugal, Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, Shanghai Foreign Investment Promotion Center, Portuguese Investment and Foreign Trade Agency, Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Sino-Portuguese Enterprise Exchange Conference was successfully held on the evening of October 26 at Xuhui campus of our university and the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The conference was attended by 10 Chinese enterprises, including Shanghai Waigaoqiao International Trading Operation Center Co., Ltd., Bright Food International Trade (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., and Oriental International (Group) Co., Ltd. , and 16 Portuguese enterprises, including Take The Wind S.A., Super Bock Group and Maporal Company. The exchange conference was held in a combination of offline and online, which was presided over by Vice President He Ying, accompanied by Chen Wei, executive vice dean of International Education College.
The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has put forward new ideas, drawn a new blueprint and opened a new journey for China's future development, and also pointed out the direction for China's international development cooperation. The report of the 20th National Congress proposed that we must adhere to the theme of promoting high-quality development, high-level opening up, and the quality and level of trade and investment cooperation. In order to implement the relevant cooperation consensus reached by President Xi Jinping and President De Sousa during their mutual visits in 2018 and 2019, the pragmatic cooperation between China and Portugal in the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” will be promoted through a series of activities such as information exchange, policy docking and business dialogue. To expand bilateral investment and trade to create opportunities, our university organized this Sino-Portuguese Enterprise Exchange Conference.
Xia Yongzheng, Deputy Director of the Trade Development Office of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, introduced the development of Shanghai's foreign trade. He pointed out that in recent years, Shanghai has actively encouraged the expansion of imports to further meet domestic consumption needs, actively leveraged the role of the China International Import Expo, and strengthened the import trade innovation platform and trade infrastructure construction. He said he welcomed Portuguese enterprises to further strengthen cooperation and exchange with Chinese enterprises, especially those in Shanghai, and expand trade with Shanghai, especially using the Expo as the best channel to showcase their products, improve their visibility, find business partners and share the opportunities of China's large market.
Director Xue Feng of the Shanghai Foreign Investment Promotion Center introduced Shanghai's business environment and new investment opportunities. He pointed out that until now, Shanghai's "five centers" of international economy, finance, trade, shipping, and technological innovation have been basically completed. Shanghai's good infrastructure provides a strong guarantee for foreign-funded enterprises, which is reflected in business facilities, public services and transportation. Shanghai and Portugal have extensive cooperation opportunities in the fields of technological innovation, agricultural products, and marine economy.
Ma Jun, General Manager of the Commercial Operation Department of Shanghai Waigaoqiao International Trade Operation Center Co., Ltd., introduced the "Global Exchange" project, which is an international consumption center and a regional center in the Free Trade Zone. The company has integrated four professional trade service platforms, including cosmetics, watches, wine, and regional centers, into the project, which is expected to be officially launched in the fourth quarter of this year. Through this project, they will continue to improve the level of facilitation of import and export trade of consumer goods, and participate in the construction of Shanghai’s international consumption center.
Wang Qun, Deputy General Manager of Bright Food International Trade (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. introduced Bright Food Group and its international business section. The Group adheres to the concept of international development, vigorously promotes the docking of overseas resources with the Chinese market, and is committed to becoming a world influential food multinational industrial group. The Group vigorously develops domestic and international retail and distribution networks for its international business. Manasson, an Australian company acquired abroad, has established a sales network focusing on the Australian market and the New Zealand market.
Zhang Di, the person in charge of the trade and supply chain section of Oriental International (Group) Co., Ltd., introduced the company. Orient International (Group) Co., Ltd. is a large comprehensive enterprise group with advanced manufacturing and modern service industry, with fashion industry, health industry and supply chain service as its core main business, supported by science and technology industry, industrial property and industrial finance, and is the largest textile and garment group and the largest textile and garment exporter in China.
Pedro Pinto, CEO and co-founder of Portugal's Take The Wind S.A., presented the company's history, products, vision, mission, customers and international cooperation. The company was founded in 2008 and has been operating in the Chinese market since 2016. The company's mission is to improve professional skills through critical thinking in medical and nursing teaching, to develop innovative teaching methods, and to develop and enhance scientific research through a simulation approach.
Antonio Gaspar, General Manager of China Region of Super Bock Group, introduced the company's history, strategic pillars, global strategy, strategic focus, successes and failures. He argued that in order to open the Chinese market, the company needs to learn the Chinese culture, understand the differences between consumer groups in different Chinese provinces, consumer profile, price sensitivity and value chain. At the same time, he emphasized the importance of digitalization.
Nuno Correia, director of Portugal's Maporal Company, introduced the company's profile and China's market strategy. He said that China is the world's largest pork producer and importer, which means entering China was part of their strategic plan in 2007. It is imperative to find the right partner in China, which helps to understand this market better and gain the necessary trust from Chinese customers.
He Ying made a concluding speech and said that enterprises from China and Portugal have conducted full exchanges during the conference and it will help promote the practical cooperation between China and Portugal in the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", and create opportunities for further expansion of bilateral investment and trade. Besides, our university will give full play to the spillover effect of foreign aid training, continue to build a communication platform for Chinese and foreign enterprises, and help enterprises "go out" and "bring in".
Written by: Zhou Dejiang
Photos by: Chen Xiaoye
Reviewed by: Chen Wei
