On the evening of August 11, 2022 (GMT+8), the opening ceremony for Seminar on Import and Export Trade for Portuguese-Speaking Countries, hosted by Ministry of Commerce and organized by MOFCOM Training Base for International Business Officials (Shanghai) was held online. Xu Yuansheng, Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Consulate General in in Rio, Brazil, Chen Qingfen from Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, Dai Ying, vice dean of International Education College of Shanghai Business School attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches.
China is the largest developing country, while the Portuguese-speaking countries have a population of more than 200 million and are rich in natural resources. The countries have strong economic complementary advantages, many points of interest, and huge potential for cooperation. We are actively cooperating under the leadership of multilateral mechanisms such as the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the BRICS cooperation mechanism and the China-CPLP Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum to jointly safeguard the interests of developing countries.This seminar is a vivid manifestation of China and the Portuguese-speaking countries overcoming difficulties together, carrying out mutually beneficial cooperation and seeking common development.
Xu Yuansheng said that import and export trade is an important element of international exchange among Portuguese-speaking countries and is conducive to strengthening the B&R initiative. China hopes to deepen pragmatic cooperation with other countries, make good use of the high-quality teaching resources provided by the Chinese government, and connect with local powerful cooperative institutions to carry out centralized offline teaching, so as to improve the teaching effect of the seminar. Thus, the government will take the stage, business associations will operate, and key enterprises will participate to promote import and export trade.
Chen Qingfen said that in recent years, the friendly cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries has been expanding and deepening. Platforms such as the China International Import Expo, the Canton Fair, the Beijing Fair, and the Macao International Trade and Investment Fair have strongly promoted the rapid development of trade exchanges between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. It is hoped that the participants will use the seminar as a platform to further promote exchanges and cooperation in this field through online communication and in-depth discussions, and thus promote the economic recovery of the countries.
Dai Ying said that this seminar, led by promoting the building of a community of human destiny, aims to promote exchanges and cooperation between China and Portuguese-speaking countries in this field, to open a new window of opportunity to complement each other's advantages and open development, and to provide new development opportunities to enhance the well-being of people. In addition, the seminar increased the proportion of exchanges, and strived to make the participants understand the characteristic cases and accumulated experience of China in this field, so as to develop new ideas and new methods for the participants to promote economic and trade cooperation, and put forward development suggestions based on their own conditions.
Ren Chao, speaking as an expert representative, said that over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, China's economic growth process has a lot of experience worth summarizing, which is the crystallization of the collective wisdom of the Chinese people in developing the economy. It is not only China's successful experience, but also a wealth that can be shared with the world. The seminar is also held to share the valuable experience of China's reform and opening up and economic development with the trainees.
Speaking on behalf of all the participants, Rita Fernandez, Finance Director of the Customs Clearance Association of the State of Rio, Brazil, hoped to meet people from different backgrounds, learn about different cultures and seek opportunities for development. She also expressed her honor to participate in the seminar and her sincere thanks to the organizer and the hosts.
The seminar will last 21 days and 47 officials from relevant departments of Angola, Brazil, Sao Tome and Principe and other countries will participate in.
Written by: Zhao Zixuan
Photos by: Ni Haoran
Reviewed by: Chen Wei
