International Political, Business and Research Resources Gather in Chaoyang, Achieving Multiple Outcomes via High-level Collaborations
The 2024 Beijing CBD Forum was held from June 5th to 7th in Beijing. With the theme of “Dialogue with the World for Common Development,” this forum was jointly guided by the Beijing Municipal People’s Government and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; co-hosted by municipal departments such as Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform, Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce, Beijing Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, Beijing Municipal Local Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau, and the People’s Government of Chaoyang District, Beijing; and organized based on collaboration with multiple organizations, including the China Association for Public Companies, United Nations Industrial Development Organization Investment and Technology Promotion Office (China-Beijing), and the American Urban Land Institute.
The forum adopted a “1+4+N” activity framework, consisting of one opening ceremony, four main sections focusing on business, finance, culture and consumption respectively, and numerous peripheral activities (N), nearly 20 sessions in total. The event covered four main venues, including the China World Hotel, and nearly ten activity venues such as Liangma River, showcasing the development achievements and experiences of Chaoyang District from various perspectives. The forum aimed to explore globalization practices on green development, new quality productive forces, and other aspects.
International Political, Business and Research Resources Gather in Chaoyang for Dialogue on Development
“1+4+N” Fully Demonstrates Development Advantages
On June 5th, the opening ceremony of the Beijing CBD Forum and the First Beijing CBD Multinational Corporation Conference were held in Chaoyang District. This forum adopted a “1+4+N” activity framework, consisting of one opening ceremony and four main sections focusing on business, finance, culture, and consumption, as well as numerous peripheral activities (N), nearly 20 sessions in total.
In unity, we progress together. As the first event in the business section, the First Beijing CBD Multinational Corporation Conference attracted numerous international organizations, business associations, and regional headquarters chiefs of over a hundred multinational companies, with more than half of the speakers being foreign guests. The conference focused on the theme of global climate cooperation and opportunities for green development in China. It featured topics such as “Global Climate Cooperation and Green Governance,” “Green Development and Chinese Modernization,” “Zero Carbon Emission Goals: Energy Transition and Security,” “Green Finance and Sustainable Development,” and “Green Transition in China: New Opportunities for Multinational Corporations.” Under these topics the resources of multinational companies were mobilized to actively participate in discussions and promote regional economic development through cooperation with enterprises to achieve mutual success.
The Round Table for Chinese and Foreign Automobile Enterprises in the business section is co-hosted by the People’s Government of Chaoyang District and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization Investment and Technology Promotion Office (China-Beijing). The occasion was graced by the presence of leaders from relevant departments, industry experts, and renowned Chinese and foreign car companies and industrial chain enterprises such as Volkswagen, Jaguar Land Rover, Tesla, BYD, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, General Motors, and BMW. The roundtable was meant for discussing the development and technological innovation of car companies in China from the perspective of the most representative enterprises.
The 2024 Press Release for High-Quality BRI Cooperation with Public Companies, based on the partnership with the China Association for Public Companies, provided effective references and insights for enterprises participating in the BRI development through activities such as representative industry seminars on “going global,” going-global roundtable meetings for public-listed companies, government-enterprise matchmaking and exchange meetings, and visits to special park routes.
The Regional Economic and Trade Cooperation Sustainable Development Dialogue focused on the theme of “Accelerating the Formation of New Quality Productive Forces to Promote Sustainable Development of China-ASEAN Economic and Trade Cooperation”, for energetically expanding exchanges and cooperation with ASEAN countries in the fields of economy, trade, culture, and sustainable development.
The 2024 Beijing CBD Forum on Foreign-related Legal Services discussed new challenges and measures for legal guarantee for the high-quality development of Chaoyang District, aiming to build an international arbitration and commercial mediation center and create a preferred location for international dispute resolution.
The Night Talk of Beijing CBD New Quality Productivity, with the theme of “Artificial Intelligence+” and scene innovation, was meant to facilitate the participation of industry departments, scientists, entrepreneurs, and capital institutions, so that the cross-domain integration of scientific research, technological applications, industrial scenarios, and capital investment in the CBD, with application scenarios playing the guiding role, would be promoted.
The Development and Prospects Seminar on Public REITs, in collaboration with the Urban Land Institute (ULI), was held to interpret the capital market reforms and new development opportunities related to China’s public REITs market, and discuss the favorable market environment and development potential gradually formed with the accelerated development of high-quality infrastructure and financial products.
The Closed-Door Meeting of China CBD Alliance and Annual Conference, in collaboration with Tongzhou Canal Business District, was graced by the presence of member entities from across the country to gather in Beijing, and ended up with the release of the “Research on the Construction of China’s CBD Leading International Consumer Center Cities – China Business Center Development Report No. 9 (2023),” fully demonstrating the influencing and driving role of Beijing CBD.
The East Asia China Wealth Salon, in collaboration with East Asia Bank, brought together industry experts and high-net-worth clients for multidimensional interpretation of the global market. From macro to micro perspectives, it helped investors find investment opportunities amidst changes.
The financial section focused on international perspectives and international elements, closely combining the current situation and hot topics of the era, to provide an international, high-quality, and globally-oriented platform for communication and cooperation with well-known international financial institutions and organizations. Based on the partnership with the National Institute of Finance and Development, this section organized the Beijing CBD International Financial Forum with the theme of “High-level Economic Openness, High-quality Financial Development,” aiming to discuss current economic and financial hot topics and effectively promote high-quality financial development.
The cultural section, by fully embracing the new opportunities brought about by the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, was meant for discussing new paths for the integrated development of culture, commerce, and tourism in the new era, and promoting the sharing of cultural development experiences and win-win cooperation. The 2024 National Cultural Industry Innovation Experimental Zone Development Conference, themed “Culture, Light and Shadow, Integration, and New Quality,” leveraged the two-way empowerment of technology and culture, focused on digital culture, film and television, and other related industries, and was honored by the presence of top industry experts, scholars, entrepreneurs, etc., from both domestic and international backgrounds to jointly discuss the prospects, technologies, and approaches for fostering and strengthening the development of the cultural industry in the era of digital intelligence.
The consumption section revolved around the construction path of an international consumption center city, presenting new types of consumption scenarios and high-quality international living experiences. A series of characteristic consumer activities, such as the Chaoyang Bordeaux Wine Festival and the First Jintai Market Beijing Hot Dog Festival, have been launched to enhance the city’s consumption quality and image, further promoting consumption innovation and upgrading.
The high-level cooperation has achieved multiple significant outcomes.
Green and low-carbon initiatives advocated at the Carbon Neutrality Forum thus initiated.
In addition to the wide variety of activities, the forum stood out for its high level of participation. For the first time, the 2024 Beijing CBD Forum has established deep cooperation with four ministries and commissions under the State Council, including the National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Commerce, and China Securities Regulatory Commission. It has also achieved close collaboration with three international organizations, namely the United Nations Industrial Development Organization Investment and Technology Promotion Office (China-Beijing), the United Nations Development Programme Representative Office in China, and the China-ASEAN Center.
National-level think tanks such as the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the National Institute of Finance and Development, as well as renowned universities like Renmin University of China and Zhejiang University, also contributed a lot to the forum. The forum has maintained cooperation with over 30 key partners.
The high-level cooperation has attracted numerous international heavyweight guests. Distinguished attendees include Marius Vismantas, Chief Financial Sector Specialist at the World Bank; Michael Hart, President of AmCham China; John McLean, Chairman of the City of London Corporation and Chairman of the UK-China Business Development Centre. The First Beijing CBD Multinational Corporations Conference extensively involved multinational corporations in the Chaoyang District. Representatives from multinational corporations in the district, such as Tesla, Knorr-Bremse, and Charoen Pokphand Group, have been invited to attend, bringing global attention to Beijing.
The high-level cooperation has also achieved multiple significant outcomes. At the First Beijing CBD Multinational Corporations Conference, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed an agreement with the Beijing Central Business District Administration Committee to explore zero-carbon CBD practices and establish a platform for green development innovation, aiming to enhance the awareness of sustainable development goals (SDGs) and green development in the region. The Singapore International Arbitration Centre also signed an agreement with the Beijing Central Business District Administration Committee to jointly promote international arbitration for companies and investors within the district to resolve cross-border disputes. The two parties will exchange the latest development information and principles in international arbitration and discuss existing and potential channels for cooperation. The conference also awarded plaques to the first group of executive director entities of the Beijing CBD Multinational Corporations Conference, nurturing the inherent driving force of the Beijing CBD Forum.
At the 2024 Beijing CBD Forum on Foreign-related Legal Services, Beijing Financial Court’s foreign-related financial circuit tribunal, the first of its kind around Beijing, was established. The forum also presented multiple high-quality research outcomes, including the release of the “White Paper on BRI Cooperation of China’s Public Companies 2023,” ” BRI Cooperation of China’s Public Companies: Ten Years of Best Practice Cases,” and “Research on China CBD Leading the Construction of an International Consumption Center City.”
Additionally, this year’s Beijing CBD Forum has created the Beijing’s first international forum on achieving carbon neutrality through citizens’ participation in carbon inclusion. By using carbon offset credits generated during Beijing’s “Green Life Season,” the forum achieved carbon neutrality. It also reduced the use of paper materials through digital means, adopted environmentally friendly packaging for drinking water to promote recycling, so as to actively advocate for green transportation choices among participants and promote a low-carbon lifestyle.
Promoting International Competitiveness through a Combination of High-Quality Development Measures
Constructing an International Hub with High Standards
Through recent years, Beijing CBD has been consistently advancing high-quality development. In 2023, the tax revenue in the CBD functional area reached nearly 130 billion yuan, representing a year-on-year growth of 10%. The number of newly registered enterprises exceeded 12,000, showing a growth rate of over 20%. The functional area now boasts 145 buildings with tax revenue exceeding 100 million yuan, an increase of 14 buildings compared to the same period last year. There are 20 buildings with tax revenue exceeding 1 billion yuan, an increase of 1 building from the previous year. One building achieved a tax revenue of over 10 billion yuan, highlighting the contribution of high-quality buildings. As of now, the CBD functional area is home to 114 regional headquarters of multinational corporations.
As an important seat of the “Two Zones” construction, Beijing CBD has always upheld an internationalized positioning and a global perspective. It has persisted in exploring differentiated development paths, contributing numerous practices and tentative practices to the high-quality development of the region.
Firstly, strengthening the construction of the rule of law and optimizing the regional business environment. In order to meet the international commercial arbitration needs of enterprises, the CBD, in collaboration with the district’s judicial bureau, has formulated a work plan to promote the construction of the Beijing International Commercial Dispute Resolution Center in Chaoyang District. It has continued to collaborate with internationally renowned arbitration institutions such as SIAC and HKIAC, and worked together with the relevant municipal departments to promote the establishment of the Beijing International Commercial Dispute Resolution Center. A strategic cooperation agreement on foreign-related financial rule of law has been signed with the Beijing Financial Court, enabling multi-channel, multi-level, and multi-form cooperation to achieve prevention of financial cases at the source, early resolution, and control at key points, thereby ensuring a smooth homestretch of judicial services.
Secondly, strengthening cross-border data services to improve services for enterprises. In collaboration with the Beijing International Big Data Exchange, the CBD has jointly established the Beijing CBD Multinational Enterprise Data Circulation Service Center, which is the city’s first physical outlet serving the cross-border data market. It provides services such as cross-border data consulting, data hosting, and data asset registration and assessment. It has successfully guided the first case in China to achieve data export from the mainland to Hong Kong by signing individual standard contracts, promoting the interconnection of personal credit information between the mainland and Hong Kong.
Thirdly, strengthening cooperation between Beijing and Tianjin to improve customs clearance facilitation. Together with Tianjin Port (Group) Co., Ltd. and Beijing Chaoyang Customs, the “Beijing CBD-Tianjin Port Beijing-Tianjin Cooperative Port Service Center” has been established to provide customs clearance facilitation services for enterprises. Leveraging this platform, it has served more than 140 trade enterprises of various types, addressing over 10 pain points and demands of enterprises. It has expanded business cooperation and successfully created a full-process logistics agency project for Volvo’s exports to Europe. The services have been continuously improved, with a dynamic fulfillment rate of over 95% for ship arrivals and departures, and the processing durations for various business procedures at service windows controlled within 10 minutes.
Fourthly, strengthening investment attraction to enhance the quality and efficiency of economic development. It adheres to the principle of “presenting presentable plans, space, ecology, policies, and capital” in investment attraction activities. With the basic orientation of “all-staff investment attraction, global investment attraction,” it focuses on “preferred lists, advantageous teams, quality space, preferential tools, and excellent services” as important instruments, constructing an investment attraction system of “two comprehensive benefits and five advantages,” and advancing investment attraction to a new level. The Measures to Promote the High-quality Development of the Beijing Central Business District has been formulated and released. Through multi-domain and multi-measure approaches, it aims to build a demonstration zone with a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment, construct an international-level business district and a benchmark zone for the digital economy, and stimulate the vitality of market entities in a more drastic manner, thereby building a modern industrial system. At the same time, it closely focuses on the incremental growth of key enterprises within the district, rendering energetic efforts in policy coordination and implementation.
In the future, Beijing CBD will continue to make efforts in three aspects.
Firstly, it will strengthen its positioning for international development. It will continue to implement the “CBD Headquarters Growth Plan” to promote the upgrading of a batch of existing target corporate entities into headquarters and attract a batch of new headquarters of enterprises. It will accelerate the construction of an international financial cluster to create a modern financial business format with global competitiveness. It will also expedite the development of an international organization clustering area, creating a vibrant, fashionable, and high-quality internationalized neighborhood, and building a new stronghold on Beijing’s openness to the outside world. Furthermore, it will accelerate the development of a billion-scale international-level business district, attracting global consumer brands, cultivating and expanding emerging and distinctive consumption activities, and creating an international consumption environment.
Secondly, it will create a more favorable business environment. It will thoroughly implement the opinions of the Beijing Municipal Government on comprehensively optimizing the business environment to create “Beijing Service.” The CBD will formulate an implementation plan to build an internationally first-class business environment, unleash the potential of various resources and elements, and continuously enhance the vitality and competitiveness of market entities. It will launch the relevant studies and promote the formulation of a negative list for cross-border data, continuously attract and serve enterprises and talents from various countries, and promote the facilitation of cross-border trade.
Thirdly, it will provide a broader platform for exchanges. With the goals of “interconnectivity, diversity & integration, global connectivity, and shared prosperity,” it will actively recruit member entities of the China Business District Alliance, participate in various activities of the Global Business District Innovation Federation, and plan to hold more events both domestically and internationally. It will focus on cooperation and sharing, providing an exchange platform based on equality and mutual benefits.
