International Cooperation and Development Conference for Young Entrepreneurs Kicks Off in Beijing, Themed "Reshaping Growth and Win-Win Cooperation"
On April 25th, the International Cooperation and Development Conference for Young Entrepreneurs, hosted by the China International Youth Exchange Center, opened in Beijing. With the theme of "Reshaping Growth and Win-Win Cooperation", this conference gathered 200 representatives including business leaders, heads of economic organizations and young entrepreneurs from over 40 countries around the world. They conducted extensive and in-depth discussions on various topics such as new paths for global economic recovery, the stability of industrial and supply chains, multilateral cooperation and mutual benefit, and deepening cooperation among young entrepreneurs from ASEAN, China, Japan and South Korea.
The conference has attracted strong attention from the international community. Former French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Montenegrin Minister of Economic Development and Tourism Goran Đurović, Chairman of the Cambodian National Assembly's Commission on Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Media Soeung Saran, Mongolian Minister of Labor and Social Protection & Member of the State Great Khural Bolortuya, Former Malaysian Minister of Transport Dato' Sri Wee Ka Siong, Malian Minister of Industry and Trade Mahmoud Ould Mohamed, Pakistani Federal Minister for Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development Sajid Hussain Turi, Secretary-General of the China-ASEAN Center Shi Zhongjun, World President of Junior Chamber International (JCI)维多奥玛松 (Vido阿玛松, note: standard name needs confirmation, usually transliterated as Vido Amason), and Chairman of the OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Division Patrick Kovács, among others, sent congratulatory messages. They expressed the hope that in the post-pandemic era, young entrepreneurs from all countries will strengthen dialogue, deepen cooperation, and work together to promote global economic development.
Fu Zhenbang, Member of the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China and Vice Chairman of the All-China Youth Federation, attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. He stated that young entrepreneurs are an important force driving social progress and a key source of momentum for global economic development. New situations call for new responsibilities, and new challenges require new actions. He pointed out that young entrepreneurs bear a major and inescapable mission in promoting global economic recovery and maintaining the stability and smooth flow of global industrial and supply chains. They should focus on building consensus on openness and uphold the correct direction of economic globalization; focus on innovation-driven development to empower global economic growth; focus on practicing the concept of free trade to ensure the safety and smooth flow of industrial and supply chains; focus on addressing climate change to promote green and sustainable development; and focus on deepening international cooperation to consolidate progress in global economic governance. Zhu Hongren, Executive Vice President and Secretary-General of the China Enterprise Confederation, Tang Mu, Vice President of the China-Australia Chamber of Commerce, Abhishek Kumar, President of the Indian Entrepreneurs Association, and Yu Tengqun, Chairman of the ICC Belt and Road Commission, delivered speeches successively. They called on young entrepreneurs to continuously boost confidence in economic recovery, strengthen solidarity and enhance communication to inject youth vitality into global economic governance. Qi Bin, Vice President of China Investment Corporation, Luis Rubio, President of the China-Spain Chamber of Commerce, and Chen Zhixiong, Chairman of the Malaysia Chinese Cultural Young Entrepreneurs Association, delivered keynote speeches, providing insights on the global economic situation, the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative, and China-Europe cooperation. During the conference, an on-site real-time voting survey was conducted. Overall, nearly 60% of the respondents were optimistic about global economic recovery, over 30% believed that the artificial intelligence industry has the greatest growth potential, and respondents generally agreed that technological innovation and the effective operation of new multilateral trade agreements will be the main drivers of global economic growth in 2023. Meanwhile, most participants believed that the Chinese market will offer the best investment returns in 2023. During the opening ceremony, the China International Youth Exchange Center, together with youth entrepreneur organizations from 33 countries, launched the "International Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs Associations", creating a new platform for young entrepreneurs from all countries to carry out international cooperation. The conference also adopted the "Beijing Declaration on International Cooperation of Young Entrepreneurs", calling on young entrepreneurs from all countries to strengthen cooperation and contribute to promoting global economic recovery and building an open world economy.
