China Australia Business Forum successfully concluded

Themed "Converging Business Resources, Empowering Economic Development", the CIFTIS-Never-End Series China Australia Business Forum was successfully concluded on January 10, 2024. This forum was co-hosted by CPA Australia and Beijing Service Center for Overseas Non-governmental Organizations, and supported by Beijing International Trade in Services Center and Beijing Capital Group Exhibitions & Events Co., Ltd. As a part of the Event of "CIFTIS-Never-End" Series, the forum brought together industry experts, leading enterprises, and media representatives to engage in dialogues around hot topics such as global economic development, BRI business investments and M&As, and digital transformation. 

Rob Donelly, Austradegeneral manager, Greater China, Zhou Ling, deputy director-general of Beijing International Trade in Services Center, and Lloyd Peng, ABB China vice president, head of Country Tax, and president of North China Committee of CPA Australia,attended and addressed the forum. Zhang Wei, vice presidentatTsinghua University National Institute of Finance, member of the Party Committee and deputy reseracher at Tsinghua University PBC School of Finance, Liu Jianfeng, executive director and president of ENN Energy, Xing Zhaopeng, senior China strategist at ANZ China, Jason Zhang, partner at Deloitte, Alex Lu, partner at EY China, Jason Shi, partner at PwC China, and Lu He, partner at KPMG China, among others, delivered keynote speeches. 

Amidst the wave of economic globalization, the services sector and service trade have emerged as an indispensable force driving global economic and trade growth. According to data from WTO, the services sector accounted for over 65% of global GDP and offered more than 50% of employment opportunities worldwide. Service trade has become the most dynamic and important component of international trade. It is forecasted by WTO that trade in services could account for over 30% of world trade by 2040. China attaches great importance to the growth of its service trade. Statistics from the Ministry of Commerce showed that in 2023, China's foreign trade in services ranked second in the world for the ninth consecutive year, demonstrating rapid and resilient development. China is hosting the CIFTIS to share opportunities for the development of trade in services with all parties concerned, make new contributions to increasing global trade flows, and inject new impetus into the world economic recovery. 

Since 2012, the CIFTIS and its predecessor Beijing Fair have attracted more than 900,000 attendees and exhibitors and over 800 overseas business associations and institutions from 197 countries and regions globally. Following its upgrade in 2020, the CIFTIS has become the largest comprehensive exhibition in the field of global trade in services and a gateway for the world's service industry. To amplify its reach, the CIFTIS has prioritized regular domestic and foreign investment promotion conferences, trade exchanges, and business talks online or onsite to contribute to the event of "CIFTIS-Never-End" Series. Greater efforts have also been made to actively promote the fair's role as a platform for China to expand opening-up, deepen cooperation and pioneer innovation, thereby further magnifying its visibility, engagement, and influence. 

Rob Donelly, Austrade general manager,Greater China, expressed that Australia and China have established solid economic ties through their tight economic complementarity. China is Australia's largest trading partner. The trade in goods between the two sides in 2022 amounted to 287 billion Australian dollars. Therefore, there are huge opportunities for Australian companies in the Chinese market. Chinese consumers have always had a strong demand for Australia's safe, clean, and green products, as well as high-quality services. Looking ahead, Australian and Chinese businesses will have extensive cooperation opportunities across numerous industries, particularly in the services sector, and they maintain an optimistic outlook on this. 

Zhou Ling, deputy director-general of Beijing International Trade in Services Center, shed light on the specifics of the CIFTIS in her speech. As a crucial platform for China to expand opening-up, deepen cooperation and pioneer innovation, the CIFTIS will underscore its international, specialized, and market-oriented aspects in 2024. The fair will place greater emphasis on its transactional function, and invite a vast array of foreign countries and international organizations to host exhibitions and deepen the role of exhibitors' federations. It will continue to establish the trade delegations of central SOEs, state-owned financial enterprises, and Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities. Moreover, it will strengthen efforts to invite professional visitors to the site for procurement through multiple channels, organize "Invest in China Year" and overseas country/region-specific events, and provide accurate services such as supply and demand matching, trade matching, business talks and signing events, offering exhibitors and attendees an abundance of cooperation opportunities. 

China is Australia's largest trading partner. There is a high degree of complementarity between the Chinese and Australian economies, harboring immense potential for cooperation. Enterprises and institutions from both nations can leverage the CIFTIS platform to forge more pragmatic partnerships. We sincerely invite Australian institutions and businesses of all types to actively participate in the 2024 CIFTIS, where they can showcase their strengths, unveil new technologies and achievements, and engage in promotional and negotiation activities. We will provide high-quality services, such as venue arrangement, on-site reception, trade coordination, publicity and promotion. 

Australia is a regular participant of the CIFTIS. Back in 2012, Mr. Emerson, then Australian Minister for Trade and Competitiveness, headed a delegation to the inaugural fair. In 2022, Australia presented exhibitions in the name of the nation for the first time. The Australia Pavilion, along with the Australian Vocational and Skills Education Seminar, Australian Tourism Promotion Conference, and other events made an impressive appearance at the CIFTIS, playing a positive role in the success of the fair. In December 2023, the overseas promotion conference of the 2024 CIFTIS was held in Sydney, Australia, garnering substantial support from Australian Trade and Investment Commission and CPA Australia. 

Lloyd Peng, ABB China vice president, head of Country Tax, and president ofNorth China Committee of CPA Australia, pointed out that China and Australia have enjoyed a friendly and cooperative relationship spanning over 50 years, sharing broad common interests. For many years, China has maintained its position as Australia's largest export market, largest source of imports, and largest trading partner. CPA Australia is keen to partner with the CIFTIS, to strengthen the bond of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation with all partners, foster long-lasting and deeper collaborative exchanges, explore more avant-garde technologies and business formats, jointly build an enhanced environment for professional talent development, and unite for an even brighter and more prosperous future for the world. 

Zhang Wei, vice president at Tsinghua University National Institute of Finance, member of the Party Committee and deputy reseracher at Tsinghua University PBC School of Finance, delivered a keynote speech titled "Resilience and Recovery: The Evolution of Global Economy in the Post-Pandemic Era". He outlined the general characteristics of the global economy and dissected its patterns of change before and after the pandemic, emphasizing that the positive development trend of China's economy would remain unchanged in the long term. Representatives from Deloitte China, EY China, PwC China, and KPMG China each shared their perspectives and successful cases on "Digital Transformation Promotes HighQuality Development", "New Potential for Clean Energy Cooperation between China and Australia Under New Circumstances", "Overseas Compliance Management of Enterprises", and "New Trends, Opportunities, and Challenges for Chinese Companies Investing along the Belt and Road". They all expressed optimism about the Chinese market, and hoped to actively participate in the 2024 CIFTIS. By then, they will deepen cooperation and exchanges in professional fields, contribute their wisdom and strength to global economic development, and drive China and the world to work together for a shared goal. 

Sun Jian, vicedean of School of Accountancy at the Central University of Finance and Economics, Gao Dawei, managing partner of risk advisory at ShineWing, Shi Jiguang, CFO of China RongTong Security,Jia Zetao, deputy general manager of Beijing Tongrentang Chinese Medicine Formula Granule Investment Co., Ltd., and Cheng Xiaofeng, partner at Jingtian & Gongcheng, among others, engaged in a roundtable discussion revolving around "High-quality Connectivity: Challenges and Responses for Enterprises", and shared their respective views. 

This event is a clear manifestation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the CIFTIS-Never-End Series China Australia Business Forum. The MOU, being the first of its kind inked between CPA Australia and Beijing International Trade in Services Center, signifies the mutual commitment of both parties to foster professional exchanges and interactions, thereby promoting strategic cooperation between them and realizing the mutual benefit and win-win situation.