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Symposium Marked by Winners on Both Sides

Since 1997, Beijing and Hong Kong have successfully taken turns hosting annual economic cooperation symposiums. During the eight previous sessions, the content of trade and cooperation between the two cities grew in refinement, reflecting higher levels of trade expertise.

This mutually beneficial relationship will be enhanced during the ninth Beijing-

Hong Kong symposium on Economic Cooperation scheduled for November 28 and 29 in Beijing.

This year's event, held against a background of the one-year's operation of the CEPA (Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement), the master unban development plan approval by the State Council, the beijing Municipal Government created a biueprint for development between 2004 and 2020 under the theme "nation's capital, international city, cultural capital and congenial city to live and work", and in the wake of the 2005 Fortune Global Forum, Beijing, will be of significance because of the expected participation of so many government officials from China, both cities, scholars, entrepreneurs, and other business and government notables.

In an exclusive interview, Zhang Jifu, deputy director of the Beijing Investment Promotion Bureau, gives Business Beijing (BB) some details about the upcoming symposium.

More Highlights and Attractions

Close economic and trade cooperation over the past 20 years has already led to the mutual development of Hong Kong, an international hub of finance, trade, logistics and information, and Beijing, an increasingly internationalized metropolis as well as the nation's capital. The upcoming symposium will continue to emphasize mutual benefit, but it will be different from previous events in three different ways, according to Zhang.

For starters, the content of this symposium will cover more fields. In the previous eight symposiums, project recommendations focused on business and trade. The ninth will promote more professional projects including social development projects.

Zhang said, "We invited representatives from districts and counties to attend the projects recommendation sessions so they could learn something of the experience of city management in Hong Kong. I hope the symposium can be more than just an economic cooperation platform but also a social development cooperation platform."

The two-day symposium will deal with concrete matters related to work. All signing ceremonies and closure ceremonies have been cancelled. After the two-day symposium, organizers will arrange more exhibitions, inspection visits and talks to provide more opportunities for cooperation.

Enterprises will be given priority at the symposium. Zhang said, "Government is providing services for enterprises. Our aim in organizing the symposium is to promote cooperation between the two sides. In fact, the cooperation is between the enterprises from the two entities. That's why we refer to enterprises as the 'main body' of the symposium. 

New Trends in Cooperation

The agenda will include bilateral cooperation involving mutual benefit; seminars on city construction and management, using Hong Kong's experience as a reference in topics that will cover urban planning, environmental protection, transportation, energy saving and others ideas; and seminars on the cultural industry, high-tech products packaging and promotions, the retail and catering industries, and tourism.

Among these, there are two events of greater importance. One is a seminar on investment in Hong Kong, and another is an entrepreneurs' roundtable conference. In the past, seminars used to focus on investing in Beijing and promoting Beijing. But this time, the seminar on investing in Hong Kong, organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), will invite representatives from the Hong Kong governmental and other professionals to discuss and urge investments in Hong Kong.   

The entrepreneurs' roundtable conference will provide an opportunity for business leaders from both entities to communicate face to face. Special tourism discussions will also be held. Addressing the concept of "Advantage Complementation," Zhang Jifu said he did not mean that "Complementation" should be a way of giving somebody something they do not possess, but a way of achieving true complementarity, especially in four aspects: "I need your specialties," "You are special in the field," "I am able to use this," and "You are willing to share with me." All these are crucial in regards to the word "Complementation." Further, he said that even if Hong Kong is advanced in the traditional chemical industry, Beijing does not need assistance in this field from Hong Kong since it is not a focus of city development.

Beijing is now pursuing serious upgrades in its service industry sector, an area where Hong Kong is especially strong. Since well-established industries in Beijing now have an opportunity to develop to an ever higher level, Hong Kong can serve as a good model in this area. The service industry is likely to be the hottest topic at the upcoming symposium.