On December 6th, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)Shanghai Committee held a briefing in 2018 to inform the relevant persons of the CPPCC organizations stationed in Shanghai of their performance, and to listen to the opinions and suggestions of foreigners in Shanghai on enlarging the spillover effect of the CIIE (the Chinese International Import Expo), developing a higher level of open economy and optimizing the business environment. The participants included consuls or consuls-general of 59 countries in Shanghai, representatives of sister-cities of Shanghai, representatives of Magnolia Award winners, representatives of foreign-invested enterprises and representatives of foreign experts and scholars. Prof. Fernando ARENZANA, Scientific Co-Director for the Institutof Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences was invited to attend the meeting as one of the six Magnolia Awards winners and the only outstanding representative of Shanghai Science and Education System too. Mr. Dong Yunhu, chairman of the CPPCC Shanghai Committee attended the meeting and delivered a speech.
In his speech, Mr. Dong Yunhu said that in the past 40 years of reform and opening-up, Shanghai has fully implemented the national reform and opening-up strategy, seized the opportunities of Pudong's development and opening-up, deeply integrated into the global economic system, and entered the ranks of global cities. Openness, innovation and inclusiveness have become the most distinctive character of Shanghai. Under the leadership of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, the CPPCC Shanghai Committee has closely revolved around the major decision-making arrangements for the reform and development of the whole city, actively fulfilled its functions, and contributed its strength and cohesion to the promotion of Shanghai's economic and social development. For a long time, the reform and development of Shanghai and the performance of the Shanghai CPPCC have received the care, help and enthusiastic support of friendly people from all over the world in Shanghai. At present, Shanghai is speeding up the construction of the "five centers" and the socialist modern international metropolis with world influence. In accordance with the requirements of the central deployment, Shanghai is striving to accomplish the three major tasks of adding a new area of Shanghai Free Trade Pilot Zone, setting up a scientific board and pilot registration system in Shanghai Stock Exchange, and implementing the national strategy of regional integration development in the Yangtze River Delta. In this process, it is more necessary to absorb wisdom from all parties and gather strength from all parties. We hope that through the platform of the CPPCC briefing, we can fully listen to the opinions and suggestions of foreigners in Shanghai on Shanghai's economic and social development and jointly contribute wisdom to promoting Shanghai's all-round and high-level reform and opening-up.
At the meeting, some officials of the Consulates in Shanghai and representatives of foreigners from sister-cities of Shanghai, Chambers of Commerce, foreign enterprises and universities made speeches successively. They congratulated the successful hosting of the first CIIE, welcomed the initiative of establishing a one-stop trading service platform to continue the effect of the Expo. It is recommended to open access to information, facilitate foreign companies to understand the Chinese market, optimize the technological innovation environment, encourage universities to establish the project-oriented institutions,and support the establishment of science and technology-based SMEs.
