GASME News

GASME Major International Event Planning Conference Held in Mount Huang

On the morning of May 12th, 2024, the GASME Major International Event Planning Conference 2024-2025 was held in Xiangming International Hotel, Huangshan City.

More than 100 government officials, business association executives, and outstanding entrepreneurs participated in this conference, including He Weiwen, Senior Vice Chairman of GASME, Co-director of the China US Europe Research Center of the China Association of International Trade, and Expert of the State Council Information Office, Frank Cao, Executive Chairman and Secretary-General of GASME and Advisor on China Affairs to Former German President Wulff, Zhang Yaqiang, Deputy Mayor of Huangshan City, Ma Jun, Former Vice Chairman of the China International Association for the Promotion of Multinational Corporations and Senior Vice Chairman of GASME "the Belt and Road" International Cooperation Committee, Tian Xiaohong, Deputy Secretary-General of the SRCIC and Chief Representative of Shanghai Representative Office, Deng Ruizhou, President of the German Federal Association for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in China, Ji Xiang, Deputy Director of the Development Research Center of the People's Government of Anhui Province, Zhou Xiangbao, Deputy President of the Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, Wei Shasha, Member of the Party Group of the Ankang Municipal Government and Director of the Municipal Investment Promotion Bureau in Shaanxi Province, Xu Feng, Full-time Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Global Belt and Road Economic Cooperation Federation Association and Zhang Xiaoke, Secretary-General of Zhejiang Association of Small and Medium Enterprises.

Vice Chairman He Weiwen addressed first, thanking everyone for attending this event out of their busy schedules. He analyzed the world economic situation and provided insightful interpretations of the trade flow data between China, the United States, and Europe. He pointed out that the more sluggish the world economy is, the more cooperation and communication are needed between countries. There is always an opportunity to turn things around in danger. Under the new situation, non-governmental organizations have more potential and will have more achievements, but they must keep up with the times and be brave and innovative. Chairman He has been attending GASME activities for 24 years since 2001, supporting GASME continuously and witnessing its development.

On behalf of the People’s Government of Huangshan Municipality, Deputy Mayor Zhang Yaqiang warmly welcomed GASME to hold an important International Event Planning Conference, and introduced the business environment of Huangshan City. He believed that Huangshan City is a valuable place, hoping that GASME could organize more Chinese and foreign enterprises to invest here.

Secretary-General Cao has made plans for the important international exchange activities for GASME in the coming year. He said that from the establishment of the US China Promotion Association in the United States in early 1999 to the establishment of GASME initiated by the US China Promotion Association in 2009 to now, GASME is now in its 25th full year. With the joint support of the international community and everyone, GASME has developed from a bilateral exchange institution between China and the United States to a globally influential organization for SMEs, receiving high recognition from the international community. In 2012, GASME obtained the Consultative Status with UNIDO; In 2021, it was granted Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC. Due to the significant contributions made by GASME to the Chinese economy, the then Global Chairman of GASME Mr. Wulff, was awarded the “2022 Chinese Government Friendship Award”.

Bringing in and going global will still be the focus of the work of GASME in the next year.

In the coming year, the main activities of bringing in include: jointly hosting the 7th World Manufacturing Convention with the People’s Government of Anhui Province. And during the convention, we will host the China Europe Manufacturing Cooperation Forum, inviting Director-General Magariños, executives from over 50 Fortune 500 companies and Hidden Champion enterprises to attend and engage in precise match with Chinese enterprises; We also plan to jointly host the 2024 World Business Association Cooperation and Development Conference in Hangzhou with institutions such as ICC China and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, etc. We will invite Chairman Wulff, executives from over 300 international organizations, domestic business associations, and Fortune 500 companies to attend, creating a sustainable and high-quality global investment promotion platform; GASME will also establish its International Reception Halls in Hong Kong, Kenya, Dubai, Singapore and other places, and hold President Obama's Speech Meeting in China.

The main activities of going global include leading Chinese entrepreneurs into the European Union, entering East Africa (Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia, etc.), South America (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Antarctica), and ASEAN (Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, etc.).

In addition, GASME will also co-host the “The World In Poetry International Tour Exhibition” with the China National Society for the Promotion of Arts and Culture. Chinese poetry and painting are important carriers of the Chinese civilization. Using them to praise the beauty of the earth can effectively promote Chinese poetry and painting art to the world, enhance the exchange of traditional Chinese and foreign cultures, and inspire people from all over the world to yearn for famous mountains and great rivers and love the Earth from the depths of their hearts, so that everyone can actively participate in protecting the Earth and building a community with a shared future for mankind. We will organize excellent Chinese painters to create paintings for the poet Weibai, and select 100-200 excellent works from them to participate in the exhibition. The International Tour is planned to be exhibited in Shanghai, Dubai, Paris, New York, Hong Kong and other places, and the first exhibition will be held in Shanghai.

Secretary-General Cao pointed out that in order to implement the above plan, it is impossible to rely only on GASME’s own strength. He hopes that everyone can provide valuable opinions to make GASME activity plans more operational and promote said activities. Finally, he quoted a poem by the great poet Li Bai, “When digging a well, one should reach the spring; when setting sail, one should reach the river”, expressing his confidence in implementing these important international exchange activities.

After listening to Secretary-General Cao’s plan for GASME activities for the next year, the attending guests were greatly encouraged and responded, expressing their active participation and putting forward many useful suggestions.

Xu Feng, Full-time Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Global Belt and Road Economic Cooperation Federation Association, spoke highly of the international cooperation and exchange platform built by GASME, and said that he would continue to support the international exchange activities of GASME and help the entrepreneur delegation of GASME to enter ASEAN.

Vice Chairman Ma Jun is one of the elder statesmen of the Chinese SME community. He has served as the Vice President of CASME, Vice President of CICPMC, and Vice President of CICASME. He has been attending GASME activities since 2000 and highly recognizes its event planning and organizational capabilities. He stated that after stepping down from his leadership position, he would have more time to support the international events hosted by GASME, and suggested holding the “China Europe SME Cooperation Forum” in Beijing.

Secretary-General Tian Xiaohong believed that the conferences organized by GASME have been successful, especially the World Manufacturing Convention. She suggested that GASME should establish an international think tank to sort out the brand enterprises and cooperation projects, so that more people can know more about GASME and use the global platform created by GASME.

Ji Xiang, Deputy Director of the Development Research Center of the People's Government of Anhui Province, believed that with the successful hosting of the 6th World Manufacturing Convention, the popularity of GASME is increasing. He suggested that GASME could host the Global SME Scenario Innovation Conference to help more SMEs explore international markets.

Zhou Xiangbao, Deputy President of the Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, Deng Ruizhou, President of the German Federal Association for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in China, Wei Shasha, Member of the Party Group of the Ankang Municipal Government and Director of the Municipal Investment Promotion Bureau in Shaanxi Province, Zhang Xiaoke, Secretary-General of Zhejiang Association of Small and Medium Enterprises and others also made speeches at the conference, offering suggestions for important international activities to be implemented by GASME.

On the evening of May 12th, a welcome banquet was held with Dai Wei, Deputy Mayor of Huangshan City attended.

On May 13th, some of the participants climbed Mount Huang. Secretary-General Cao wrote a seven character quatrain for the Pine Greeting Guests on Mount Huang:

Far over the cloud, a tall pine stands upright,
From the cliff, it overlooks the mortal world.
Smiling to welcome guests from every part,
Its journey is more leisure with snow and frost.

Secretary-General Cao also recited this poem under the Pine Greeting Guests, receiving waves of applause from tourists.

This event was organized by Zhejiang Huihai Cultural Media.