The 15th World Chinese Entrepreneurs Convention (WCEC) was hosted in London, the UK. It was the first ever WCEC event to be held in Europe. Led by Jonathan Choi, the Chamber’s Chairman, the Chamber organized a delegation of over 30 members to attend the convention for exchanges with nearly 2,500 Chinese entrepreneurs from 51 countries worldwide.
With the theme of “New World, New Opportunities”, the convention was honored to have Prince Andrew, the Duke of York to deliver an opening address. He said the UK and China are natural partner in many ways. Both countries are leaders in the areas of artificial intelligence, 5G and internet of things. He hoped the relationship between both countries will be enhanced through the important platform like WCEC.
Xu Yousheng, Director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, read a congratulatory letter written by Wang Yang, Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Wang said the WCEC is an important platform for uniting global Chinese entrepreneurs. He hopes the Chinese entrepreneurs will participate in the “Belt and Road Initiative” actively. Gao Yunlong, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Chairman of All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce hopes the cooperation between China and the UK will be enhanced for development of technology; Liu Xiaoming, Chinese Ambassador to Britain expects the Chinese entrepreneurs will be able to energize the world economy through cooperation. Among others, Li Zhuobin, Vice Chairman of All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese and William Hague, Former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, were invited to the opening ceremony.
Invited by Prince Andrew, a steering committee was formed for WCEC. Some of its member, including Elizabeth Truss, Secretary of State for International Trade of the UK, participated in the Convention and delivered speech. Forums were hosted during the three-day convention, participants talked about the relationship between Chinese entrepreneurs with the topics included “Belt and Road Initiative”, culture, international vision, health and medicine. Choi was invited to deliver speech in the opening ceremony and the sub-forum about investment in the UK. He shared his views on Hong Kong enterprises’ participation in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and regional economic cooperation. Besides, Janice Choi, the Chamber’s Standing Committee Member and Johnson Choi, the Chamber’s Committee Member, were invited to speak in other sub-forums.
Besides, there were a show about Dunhuang culture and a performance by Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in the opening ceremony and VIP dinner reception in the first day. The organizing committee has announced a report about Chinese entrepreneurs in 2019 and has arranged a donation activity. Also, an exhibition was held for showcasing the classic brands of both countries. The Convention contributed to the signature of seven cooperation agreements between 15 enterprises. Several companies have also started cooperation platform for facilitating the global investment of Chinese entrepreneurs.
In the closing ceremony, on behalf of the convention, Choi announced that the 16th WCEC would be held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2021. Application of the hosting right for the 17th WCEC will be accepted starting from January next year.
The WCEC Secretariat held the 8th Advisory Board Meeting during the Convention as well. Organizers of the past editions of WCEC participated the meeting for discussing the future development of WCEC.
