THE 7TH SOUTH ASIAN - SICHUAN PROMOTION CONFERENCE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF SOUTH ASIA TO CHENGDU – SICHUAN – WESTERN CHINA

Recently Chengdu and Sichuan held two major Asian business and investment conferences,  the South Asia Collaboration on Production Capacity Dialogue and 7th South Asian -Sichuan Business Promotion Round-Table Conference from the 3rd to 4th November 2016.  

The South Asia Collaboration on Production Capacity Dialogue was organised by the Chengdu Association for Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation (CAFTEC), and its primary purpose was to promote investment and trade and encourage further collaboration on the One Belt One Road initiative,  between Chengdu, Sichuan, and its member South Asian countries.

The 7th South Asia – Sichuan Business Promotion Round-Table Conference was organised by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) with the cooperation of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC) Chamber of Commerce and Industry  and its purpose was to discuss how to further improve business mechanisms and relations between Asian and Sichuan enterprises.

Approximately 400 plus government representatives, business industry association delegates and business professionals from Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, Maldives, Myanmar,   Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka attended both conferences.  

Bangladesh was represented with a thirteen member delegation from the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and its President Mr. Abdul Matlub Ahmad outlined the significant improvements made in the Bangladesh economy throughout the last ten years. Mr. Ahmad also acknowledged in his speech the tremendous work of the Chinse authorities in promoting the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” and its importance in developing infrastructure gains and encouraging multi-lateral trade.

Investinchengdu.com and Dailu, congratulates the organisers in organising these important conferences and encouraging the further development of multilateral business and investment between Sichuan and the SAARC member countries and their enterprises.

The South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation, which was founded in 1985 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, is the intergovernmental; organisation and geopolitical union of nations in South Asia, compromising its member states of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Collectively the SAARC members comprise 21% of the world’s population and generate over 9% of the global GDP (2015).

SAARC’s objectives are highly commendable and founded on Oriental Philosophy,  to promote the welfare of the people of South Asia and to improve tier quality of life, (article 1 ) and to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and realise their full potential (article 2). See SAARC’s  website for further elaboration on their agenda and objective.

Indeed the synergies between Chengdu, Sichuan and Western China and South Asia are striking. Both Western China and South Asia are home to very significant populations some 400 million and over 1.3 billion respectively. Both regions have deep historical and cultural legacies and have been immersed in commerce and trade for many millennia. Both regions are emerging economies, have experienced tremendous growth and are collectively pruned as the future socio – economic growth corridors. Both regions indeed have their challenges, but their citizens have a unique zeal for education, learning and to improve their economic livelihood.  

Accordingly the South Asia Collaboration on Production Capacity Dialogue and 7th South Asian -Sichuan Business Promotion Round-Table Conference and other South Asian and Western China conferences will be very helpful in further capitalising on these socio – economic and investment synergies. We the people have also have to leverage into these mutual synergies, collaborate extensively, find joint venture partners to develop business models and starts ups that can benefit both regions.

Indeed with Chengdu and Sichuan further developing its global economic footprint it will encourage further business, research and investment synergies and opportunities  

The biomedical, healthcare and medical devices industries will be one of the major industries at the forefront of this because their development is extremely vital in increasing our health standards and life expectancy (Chin average 76.91 years). With the launch of the ‘Healthy China 2030’ plan, Western China and its 400 million citizens will see unprecedented improvement in the delivery of health care and improvements in life expectancy. However, what is important is that any material improvements our health care within time be spread throughout South Asia where its populations grapple with shorter life expectancies.

Indeed those enterprises, professionals and start-ups within the biomedical, healthcare and medical devices industries who captialise on the first mover advantage into Chengdu, Sichuan and Western China will over the medium term reap significant socio-economic rewards. Please take the time , wherever you are in South Asia or from the four corners of the globe to visit Chengdu and Sichuan and see at first hand this socio economic miracle in motion.

Disclaimer – This article was researched and referenced from various routes online report and added commentary provided by investinchengdu.com