Transcript of special panel on global business districts: innovation and development
Envisaging Beijing CBD, Chaoyang District in the digital and intelligent age.
On May 25th and 26th, 2024, the 10th China and Globalization Forum, hosted by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), co-organized by the China-United States Exchange Foundation (CUSEF), and supported by the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies (ACCWS), was held in Beijing.
Below is the full transcript of the special panel "Global business districts: Innovation and development." CCG has published its video recording on Chinese social media, where it remains accessible. The video recording has also been posted on CCG's YouTube channel.
CCG Update has also released the full transcript from the climate roundtable, another session from the 10th China and Globalization Forum. The rest of the event will be released shortly, as quickly as our work capacity allows.
The roundtable was moderated by Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow, CCG.
The keynote speakers are, by order of appearance,
Henry Huiyao Wang, Founder and President, CCG; Former Conselor to China State Council
JIANG Yaoping, Former Vice Minister, Ministry of Commerce; Former Vice Minister, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
CHEN Dai, Director, Beijing Central Business District Administration Committee
The panelists are, by order of appearance,
David Blair, Vice President and Senior Economist at the Center for China and Globalization(CCG)
Mojca Deželak, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Slovenia in China
CHEN Bin, Director, Head of Project & Development Services, North China at Cushman & Wakefield
Evelyn Wu, Chief Representative of BBZ Academy (Switzerland) China Office, Deputy Director of Green Investment & Finance Committee, Beijing Green Finance Association (BGFA)
GUO Yinbo, CCG Senior Council Member; General Manager and Founder of Wuxi Jinyunzhilian Corporation (Xiaomi Eco-system)
MU Jingchuan, Project Advisor, United Nations Office of South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC)
YOU Yang, Director, X Museum
Kaisheng Liu, Chairman, Franco-Chinese Association for Sustainable Urban Development, France
Xiaomeng Wang, Vice Chairman, Chinese Association of Science and Technology, Switzerland
Atakan ÖZDEMİR, Chief Commercial Counsellor, Embassy of Turkey, Beijing
Special Panel – Global business districts: Innovation and development
Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow, CCG
Dear Vice Minister Jiang Yaoping, President Henry Huiyao Wang, Director Chen Dai, distinguished guests, ladies, and gentlemen, good afternoon. A warm welcome to everyone attending this roundtable discussion. Our topics today revolve around the green and sustainable development of global business districts, the international cooperation of global business districts, and the innovative services of global business districts from the perspective of the digital economy.
Therefore, our forum will mainly focus on three themes:
Paths for green and sustainable development and experience sharing of global business districts.
International cooperation and exchange of global business districts, sharing new concepts and innovative practices in international Central Business District (CBD) management.
The innovative services of business districts from the perspective of the digital economy.
It is a great honor for us today to have Vice Minister Jiang, Director Chen, and President of CCG Henry Huiyao Wang. Additionally, we will also be joined by Mr. Derek Lambe, Economic Counselor of the Embassy of Ireland in China, and Ms. Mojca Deželak, Deputy Head of the Embassy of Slovenia in China. We are also privileged to have Mr. Bin Chen, Director and head of Project & Development Services of North China at Cushman & Wakefield; Ms. Evelyn Wu, Chief Representative of BBZ Academy (Switzerland) China Office, Deputy Director of Green Investment & Finance Committee at Beijing Green Finance Association; Mr. Yang You, Director of the X Museum, with us today.
In addition to our speakers on-site, we also have three distinguished guests joining us online. They are Mr. Kaisheng Liu, Chairman of the Franco-Chinese Association for Sustainable Urban Development in France; Mr. Xiaomeng Wang, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Association of Science and Technology in Switzerland; and Julia Solodova, Project Development Manager at Paris La Défense. We are also honored to have many experts, scholars, and practitioners in international business district management with us today. Due to time constraints, I would now like to invite President Wang of the CCG to deliver the welcome remark.
Henry Huiyao Wang, Founder and President, CCG; Former Conselor to China State Council
Thank you. We have so many international participants at the conference.
Respected Minister Jiang Yaoping, Director Chen Dai, esteemed representatives from various embassies, distinguished business representatives from different sectors, and our esteemed guests for attending today's discussion. Much appreciated. We have friends coming from business, government affairs, diplomatic, technological, academic, and media sectors. Good afternoon to you all. I am delighted that the CCG is hosting the 10th Annual China and Globalization Forum in Beijing today. I am also pleased to see that the former Sri Lankan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom has just entered the room. Welcome!
This event is really a global forum bringing together over 300 participants from across the world, with half of the attendees journeying from various corners of the globe to join us. This underscores the significance of this forum. The "Global Business District: Innovation and Development Forum" is being organized within the context of globalization, a topic of considerable interest. We intend to live-stream our discussions and leverage online promotion to engage a wider global audience.
The advancement of global business districts is of utmost importance, particularly given the rich historical significance of the surrounding CBD areas, which stand as internationally renowned hubs for commerce. These areas have undergone significant development and necessitate heightened collaboration with various nations. Today, we will have the opportunity to gain valuable insights from Minister Jiang, Director Chen, and other esteemed delegates on these pertinent matters.
First of all, the development of the CBD, simply put, rests on how we can continually apply and enhance digitization and intelligent development. Secondly, discussions on green development, including sustainable practices in transportation, energy efficiency, and commercial ecology are also crucial. Thirdly, I believe that CBD needs to foster diversity and inclusivity. Furthermore, how CBD can engage in innovation across different industries and promote internationalization and globalization are also areas of significant interest.
As one of the top 100 global think tanks, the CCG is keen to showcase the multifaceted achievements of Beijing's CBD to the world. To all the international attendees, including the Chief Commercial Counsellor from the Turkish Embassy in China who has also joined us just now, thank you for your keen interest. We are committed to further assisting Beijing's CBD in its international outreach, attracting more attention and participation on the global stage. I am contemplating the idea of establishing a Global CBD Forum in Beijing, centered in the CBD area itself. This envisioned forum could transcend being merely a Beijing CBD forum, evolving to become a China CBD forum, eventually culminating into a global CBD forum.
At the Global CBD Forum, we envision the presence of Fortune 500 companies, the top 500 Chinese companies, and representatives from major international organizations worldwide - including representatives from over 180 embassies, 28 United Nations agencies, and various international organizations based in Beijing. I firmly believe that CBD's significance lies not only in the development of China but also in the development of the world.
We extend a warm welcome to representatives from various countries present here today. There are several embassy representatives seated among us, including former Ambassadors and Counselors. I envisage that China's CBD, Beijing's CBD, and Chaoyang's CBD will eventually become global CBDs. Today, we are hosting this event at the core of Beijing's CBD, and I am thrilled to witness such activities unfold. I believe that CBD will garner increased attention, and support throughout this conference. We look forward to hearing the viewpoints of the esteemed opinion leaders and experts present today. I sincerely thank everyone for attending our CBD Innovation and Development Forum today. Thank you.
Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow, CCG
Thank you, President Wang, for the very comprehensive introduction. Now, I would like to invite Mr. Jiang Yaoping, Former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce and Former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, to share his insights with us. Minister Jiang will be discussing "Innovative Development of Business Districts from the Perspective of the Digital Economy." Please, Minister Jiang.
JIANG Yaoping, Former Vice Minister, Ministry of Commerce; Former Vice Minister, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
Esteemed President Henry Huiyao Wang, Director Chen Dai, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, and friends, good afternoon! It is my pleasure to participate in this forum today, and the topic I am going to share is "Innovative Development of Business Districts from the Perspective of the Digital Economy." I would like to introduce the innovative practices of our country's cross-border e-commerce integrated pilot zones. The CBD, as the core commercial area of the city, symbolizes the prosperity and vitality of urban life and serves as a crucial engine driving the continued prosperity of the city. However, in today's increasingly flourishing digital economy, a new type of business area - the digital business district - is utilizing cutting-edge digital information technologies such as the Internet of Things and the internet to foster digitized and intelligent business processes, directing the future path of commercial development.
The cross-border e-commerce integrated pilot zones are not only an important form of digital business districts but also specific areas approved by the State Council of China with unique management models and policy incentives to promote the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce, aiming to achieve the goal of "buying from and selling to the world" to serve global demands. Both the integrated pilot zones and digital business districts are based on information technology and involve diverse commercial activities. I believe this is their common characteristic. The integrated pilot zones have their unique policy incentives and development goals. They are becoming a special and vital form of the digital business district. The development of digital business districts aligns with traditional business districts and integrated pilot zones, representing an innovative approach to business district development within the digital economy. In 2015, the first cross-border e-commerce integrated pilot zone was established in Hangzhou. Now, 165 cities across the country have been approved as cross-border e-commerce integrated pilot zones. Currently, there are 690 cross-border e-commerce parks and 10,000 cross-border e-commerce enterprises within the pilot zones, with 200,000 independent sites. The innovative development of pilot zones has achieved significant results.
The cross-border e-commerce integrated pilot zones adhere to innovation-driven development principles. Specifically, the digital business districts, especially the pilot zones, have introduced a series of innovative systems and constructed a comprehensive and favorable policy framework for cross-border e-commerce enterprises, providing extensive room for their development.
Furthermore, there are also innovations in custom supervision for e-commerce. Innovations in custom supervision are crucial because the pilot zones, compared to general digital business districts, are unique areas where both domestic and international customs supervision are involved. Therefore, establishing a designated window and simplifying the import and export process of cross-border e-commerce, would enable a swifter and more convenient circulation of goods.
Moreover, innovation in smart logistics systems to reduce logistics costs and enhance the shopping experience for consumers is one of the significant challenges brought by e-commerce. Therefore, how to make logistic systems more efficient is crucial to think about, and there have been experiments conducted in pilot zones in areas like smart logistics systems and overseas warehouses, which all yielded effective results.
Financial payment innovation provides secure and convenient payment solutions for cross-border e-commerce. Digital platform innovation, utilizing technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence, boosts transaction accuracy and enhances user experience.
Of particular note is the innovation in import models, which makes overseas products easily accessible to consumers and allows consumers to purchase globally at their doorstep. This innovative model not only enriches consumers' shopping choices but also promotes global trade significantly. Last year, China's total import and export volume of cross-border e-commerce reached 2.38 trillion yuan [329 billion U.S. dollars], a 15.6% increase compared to 2022. China's cross-border e-commerce partners span globally, making it one of the countries with the most comprehensive e-commerce ecosystems.
The innovative development of the integrated pilot zones has facilitated trade and cooperation between China and other countries, as well as prosperity and development in global trade. For instance, two weeks ago, I attended the Zhengzhou Global Cross-border E-Commerce Summit in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan Province, and conducted field research in Xuchang, a nearby city. As you may know, Xuchang was the capital of the Wei State during the Three Kingdoms era [220 – 280 AD] and now holds the title of the "Global Wig Capital." In Xuchang, a wig is sold every 2 seconds through e-commerce platforms, with 40,000 wigs sold daily. Out of every 10 wigs sold globally, 6 are from Xuchang. With new technologies, materials, and production methods, there are now over 3,000 types of wigs. There are also 109 domestic brands and 645 registered overseas products. Xuchang is considered a medium-sized city in China and has a population of 5 million, with 300,000 people engaged in wig production and cross-border e-commerce. Last year, the output value reached 20 billion yuan, with products ranging from 100-200 yuan per set for mass-produced items to 20,000 yuan per set for customized products, catering to global consumers with mid-range, low-end, and high-end products. In the North American market, Xuchang holds a 40% market share, and in Africa, it holds 70%. This transformation brought about by digitization empowers our traditional industries into modern, automated ones. The digital empowerment has brought about a tremendous transformation in our industries.
I would also like to offer a few recommendations for promoting the innovative development of integrated pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce:
Adhere to innovation-led development. Whether it is a business district, a digital business district, or an integrated pilot zone, innovation-driven development is crucial for all of them, as innovation is the primary driver of progress, particularly in the era of the digital economy. Utilizing the enabling power of digital technologies to promote the development of digital business districts and integrated pilot zones is also crucial.
The integrated pilot zones should further improve regulatory models and service system structures.
Establish a sound cross-border e-commerce logistics network.
Actively participate in the formulation of international regulations.
Emphasize talent training.
Deepen cooperation and exchanges with various countries.
Ladies and gentlemen, the era of the digital economy has arrived. This is a time filled with opportunities and challenges. The innovative development of digital business districts comes at an opportune moment. Let us work together with an open, cooperative, and innovative spirit to jointly promote the prosperity and development of digital business districts, injecting new impetus into the global economy.
In conclusion, I wish this forum great success and good health and success for all guests. Thank you all.
Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow, CCG
Thank you, Minister Jiang, for the incredibly insightful presentation. I believe it has offered forward-thinking perspectives for the development of Beijing's, China's, and the global CBD. Now, let us warmly welcome Director Dai Chan, Director of Beijing Central Business District Administration Committee to deliver the keynote speech. Please go ahead, Director Chen.
CHEN Dai, Director, Beijing Central Business District Administration Committee
Esteemed Mr. Jiang Yaoping and Mr. Henry Huiyao Wang, respected guests, ladies and gentlemen, Good afternoon. It is a great pleasure to join hands with the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) in inviting representatives from embassies, international organizations, enterprises, financial institutions, and global business districts, both online and offline, to this forum. Together, we will delve into the innovative development of global business districts to foster global economic growth.
Today, we gather to share the achievements and future prospects of business districts from various perspectives. Allow me to introduce the development of Beijing CBD. As the earliest and most crucial business center in China, Beijing CBD has always strived to lead as a pioneer among business districts in China and the world, drawing on and creating advanced experiences in business district development while exchanging insights with counterparts worldwide. Beijing CBD serves as a link between China and the world. With nearly 100% of foreign embassies located here and the anticipated construction of the fourth embassy district, many of you present reside and work in this area. Eighty percent of international organizations and chambers of commerce in the city are concentrated here, making Beijing CBD a true convergence of global voices. It is the preferred entry point for foreign institutions into China, housing over 10,000 foreign enterprises, accounting for over 50% of the city's total, and hosting more than 350 international financial institutions, prestigious law firms such as Baker McKenzie, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, and Allen & Overy, as well as international consulting firms like McKinsey, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Accenture; Top ten HR companies like Randstad, ManpowerGroup, and Recruit; And the presence of the three major credit rating agencies Moody's, Fitch, and S&P. We hold international conferences and business negotiations regularly, expanding our international network and welcoming new friends. Next month, the 2024 Beijing CBD Forum will be held, marking the 24th successful edition of this signature event that offers a broad platform for dialogue and exchange.
Beijing CBD upholds green and sustainable development principles. We focus on creating a high-quality environment by establishing CBD city parks and high-quality urban spaces. Practical spaces such as underground pedestrian systems and micro-gardens are being integrated to achieve a harmonious blend of city and nature. Guided by the principles of low carbon and energy efficiency, our buildings are constructed to international standards exceeding LEED Gold, earning recognition as one of the greenest CBDs globally. We implement intelligent management practices, developing a smart transportation system that harnesses IoT, big data, and cloud computing to realize innovative applications.
Beijing CBD is an experienced hub that attracts top talent. With over 30 years of development and construction experience, we have accumulated a wealth of expertise in efficient management and sustainable growth. Our team of over 100 professionals collaborates closely with international research institutions such as Jones Lang LaSalle, PwC, Deloitte, Yale University, the Wharton School, and global think tanks to drive further progress in the city.
Beijing CBD actively engages in domestic and international dialogues. We initiated the establishment of the China CBD Alliance, currently comprising 27 members covering more than half of China's provinces. Annually, we partner with the most authoritative national think tanks to publish the "Annual Report on the Development of China's Central Business District," now in its ninth issue. As a founding member of the Global Business District Innovation Club, we endorse its mission to promote cooperation and development among business districts worldwide, channeling collective intelligence and igniting shared vitality.
We believe that deepening international exchanges and cooperation is essential for fostering innovation in global business districts. Now, I would like to discuss Beijing's role in this vision.
We will advocate for a more open development approach. Beijing CBD will expedite the construction of an international finance cluster to create a globally competitive modern financial sector. Furthermore, we will accelerate the development of an international organization cluster to form a vibrant, fashionable, high-quality international quarter, establishing Beijing as a new hub for international openness. Lastly, we will fast-track the construction of a 10 billion-dollar scale international commerce circle to attract global consumer brands, nurture emerging specialty consumption, and cultivate an international consumer environment.
We will cultivate a superior business environment. Beijing CBD has established global investment liaison offices in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Middle East. We are actively advancing the construction of sub-offices in Germany, France, and the UK. We have developed several pioneering platforms such as the Cross-Border Enterprise Data Circulation Service Center and the International Talent One-Stop Service Center to continuously attract and serve enterprises and talents from around the world, facilitating the development of cross-border trade.
We also aim to enhance and broaden the dialogue platform for global business districts. This year, we will participate in the election for the presidency of the Global Business District Innovation Council, aspiring to transform from participants into leaders. Centered around the goals of "connectivity, diversity, global linkage, and shared prosperity," we seek to enhance the council's influence and foster mutual benefits among its members. In due course, we plan to establish a stable organizational structure, setting up a liaison and coordination center in Paris La Défense to oversee the daily operations and communications of the council, providing existing and potential members with more certainty, professionalism, and continuity.
Beijing CBD intends to leverage its network to recruit more members for the council. We have established a targeted list of cities and will approach them systematically. We will create a series of promotional materials distributed at all events and in daily business to facilitate the recruitment of new members for the council.
Moreover, Beijing CBD plans to organize more activities in Europe, Asia, the Americas, and beyond, focusing on cooperation and sharing, providing an equitable and mutually beneficial platform for all members and potential new members to exchange ideas. We aim to frequently lead members to each other's cities, facilitating meetings with local key organizations and enterprises to expand collaboration beyond business districts to various stakeholders involved in business district development.
Finally, Beijing CBD envisions establishing a knowledge-sharing platform. Through think tanks, leadership clubs, and collaborative platforms, we will offer member business districts more opportunities to share ideas and build cooperation networks. We seek to create an open online resource available to all members, streamlining daily communication.
I am confident that we will have more opportunities in the future to gather with representatives from various countries, enterprises, and business districts to discuss and share achievements. Beijing CBD looks forward to exploring the path of innovative development of global business districts collaboratively, creating a bright and mutually beneficial future through interactions with new and existing friends.
Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow, CCG
Thank you, Director Chen, for your exciting introduction. As someone who has lived and worked in Chaoyang District for almost 30 years, I have witnessed the rapid development of the CBD. When Director Chen introduced the CBD just now, I really felt that Beijing CBD is not only the CBD of Beijing but also the CBD of China and the CBD of the world. The three points that you just said: (Beijing CBD is) the most open, the most energetic, and the most internationalized place for exchange of information technology and humanities, makes us feel that the future is promising.
Next, let's welcome our seven panelists. David Blair, Vice President and Chief Economist at CCG. Mojca Deželak, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Slovenia in China. Chen Bin, Director, Head of Project & Development Services, North China at Cushman & WakefieldEvelyn. Evelyn Wu, Chief Representative of BBZ Academy (Switzerland) China Office, Deputy Director of Green Investment & Finance Committee, Beijing Green Finance Association (BGFA). Guo Yinbo, CCG Senior Council Member; General Manager and Founder of Wuxi Jinyunzhilian Corporation (Xiaomi Eco-system). Mu Jingchuan, Project Advisor, United Nations Office of South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC). And You Yang, Director, X Museum.
In addition, we have four more panelists online and I would like our online guests to hear as well. The four panelists are Mr. Liu Kaisen, Wang Xiaomeng, Ms. Julia Solodova, and Ms. Hui Chen from Guangzhou.
Our arrangement today is as follows: first, the offline panelists will give speeches. Then, I will ask the panelists online to share their experiences. Finally, if we have time, we may invite the audience here to ask questions or share their insights.
Maybe let me start with English first so we can quickly run through it. As you know, the majority of people use Mandarin as the language to convey their intervention, so maybe I will start with David first. Obviously, you came from Washington D.C. You have been in China for so long and you have seen China really transform over the last two or three decades. What are the takeaways, what are some learning, what are some reflections or even some recommendations? What can you share with us? Thank you.
David Blair, Vice President and Senior Economist at the Center for China and Globalization(CCG)
I think it's useful to start with the theory of where things are located. I think one thing we've learned is that the idea of David Ricardo that we just used -- a natural comparative advantage that can determine where things are located, is absolutely wrong. There's a lot of luck involved where things are and sometimes there's planning. I think it's quite hard to build up a special district, but it's quite easy to kill it.
Let me talk about some examples. The prototypical example of a cluster is Silicon Valley in California. Why did it in the 1950s -- maybe even more recently -- it was mostly farmland and nobody thought it was of much value. I went to school in southern California, in the seventies and nobody thought much about Silicon Valley at the time. LA was the place to be. There was starting to be some stuff there, but a lot of it was just luck. David Packard lived there. Look at Seattle. Why is Boeing in Seattle because the Boeing family was from there. Why is Microsoft in Seattle because Bill Gates's family was there? It has very little to do with anything else. But the cities and the places had to be business-friendly enough, and they had to make it and had to be a place that attracted enough other people to make those businesses as possible.
If you look at China, Shenzhen is an amazing place. It's got the combination of technology and manufacturing capability which I think that cluster -- really not just one cluster, but hundreds of different clusters -- is amazing. I mean that it's probably unique in the world. Maybe parts of Japan used to be like that. In Beijing, it's amazing how you have different -- if you look at most of the venture capitalists here in Chaoyang District, most of the companies they invest in are in Haidian District. One time, I asked the investment banker, "Why is your office here in the International Financial Center when all your investment is in Haidian?" He said, "Haidian is too expensive and I can't do that." So it's amazing how little details affect things.
My wife is involved in the AI industry and her office is just outside the Qstinghua South Gate. She would love to live there. She would love to come to Chaoyang District where it's cheaper and much more business-friendly according to her. But she can't because the laborers won't move. Essentially they want to be within walking distance of Qstinghua. So all those little details go together and it's very hard to predict how to build a successful place.
Just closing, there is one more thing I want to say. There are no high-tech set clusters, but there are lots of clusters being built up around China in small towns and villages. Several years ago, I visited one of them. I can't remember the name of it, but it's in Hebei province about two hours south of Beijing. They produce fishing rods and they sell them online sell them on Taobao. And the whole village has become rich. There are maybe -- I don't know -- ten or so fishing rod companies there. There's no comparative advantage reason for them to be there. It's just, one company started building fishing rods. They built top expertise and somebody else started building fishing rods and the suppliers are there now so they built up this capability. It was unpredictable but it transformed lives. They told me that ten years before our visit, no one in the village owned a car. The place was full of Mercedes Benz and BMW when I visited there. I think this question of how you create a successful cluster is a fantastically interesting question, but we don't really know how to do it very well.
Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow, CCG
What you just brought up is a very interesting question. It's like how to build a personality for a place organically. You don't have to get all the plans but you follow the ideas. Let innovation fly, rather than putting all the homework like a teacher or professor -- maybe things don't develop in the way you want them, right? Thank you so much. That's a very good observation. If we have time, we will come back to this topic. Next, I want to invite Ms. Mojca, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Slovenia in China. The floor is yours.
Mojca Deželak, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Slovenia in China
Thank you for inviting us. Well, let me limit myself to a few words about the Slovenian business environment if you agree. Let me start with Slovenia as -- maybe not to say a small country, but a boutique country. There's this idea that a country that has access to the sea is never small, although we are a two-million-inhabited country. There are a few of us in the world. It was in Singapore that I heard this idea that what they're dealing with is how to stay relevant. I guess this is a question for all of us, even more for smaller or boutique countries.
What we try to do is think all the time about how to stay relevant and how to make a change. One of the things I can also relate to the colleague is that you mentioned location -- they say three things are important in tourism: location, location, and location. If I start from my country, the location is one of the points where we can stay relevant. It is in the heart of Europe within the range of five hundred kilometers to the basic points of Western Europe and Central Europe, and also the Western Balkans. As we like to count in hours in a car drive because the automotive industry is one of our strongest segments, we could say we have a four-hour drive to Vienna, a four-hour drive to Munich, five to Budapest, one to Trieste, Italy, one to Zagreb, Croatia, and then to the Balkans, five or six hours to Bulgaria and Serbia.
This is one view. Another one, as a Mediterranean country, as I mentioned the sea part of our identity, the hinterland access is via land of course, but also via sea, so the access to the five hundred million customers, considering the whole region, is very well accessed by the most northern port of Adriatic Sea. This is the Port of Koper, a Slovenian port, a very relevant one. Again, if we look at how we are bordered with four countries, it is kind of in our DNA that we have to work transboundary, we have to work cross-border, in trade and everything. According to the Harvard Complexity Index, Slovenia ranks first for trading across borders. This is also relevant in regard to globalization. Also, I will come to China.
From the business perspective, again, it is very much export-oriented. We have to go across borders; sectors have to be very competitive, very diversified, and very niche as well, regarding the size or the boutiqueness. We have to think niche. Within all the sectors, niche is one of the categories that we are always looking at.
Maybe I can go through three dimensions of our economy and that would be: the industrial sector, coming up to 30% of GDP, focused on automotive logistic distribution and so forth; agriculture, 2% (of GDP), a very big part of our tradition, which is very similar to China. Agriculture has a strong point in Slovenia, although it comes up to two good points of GDP; then the tertiary sector services, the strongest one up to almost 60% in information communication, financial; and tourism, maybe the strongest point. Here in tourism, maybe we come to this niche area again and that would probably be sustainability because Lavinia is a country where half of the country is forested.
Greenery is one of those niche areas definitely for us. From here, we also developed many environmental technologies for water management, waste management, sustainable solutions, and all those things that are very high-ranked now in China, as well as all around the world, but especially here. If you allow me to touch upon some of those indexes for sustainability plus tourism combined together, it would list one of the safest countries, one of the most sustainable countries, globally as well. It would be the 9th in the ranking of safety. Nature conservation, 4th. The proportion of key by diverse areas would be the 11th. The 7th greenest country in the world. And the 9th most sustainable.
Do you wanna go another round?
Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow, CCG
Maybe that's the first round. You all had your intervention. What you just shared is excellent. The few key takeaways, if I can remember from your intervention are safety, sustainability, and green tourism. To me, it's like how to make a place livable, being liked by humans, and somewhere people enjoy working. This is also very relevant to what David was saying -- building the personality for the place. To me, as you elaborate the DNA being global, it's something we really need to adapt in future plans, not only in Beijing but in China and also in other parts of the world. I think that sharing is good. Let me come back to you if we have more time and if you have a further observation or recommendations. Thank you so much.
I would switch to my Mandarin channel for now. If we have more time, we will come back for a second round. Thank you so much for the wonderful sharing.
The sharing of David and Mojia was fantastic. First of all, David was talking more about how we build the personality of a place. In fact, the traditional Chinese approach is very good at building: big construction, big industry, big business, right? David's talk was about how we can naturally encourage or promote the personality of a place, which is something all of us are willing to do as well.
I think the sharing from the Slovenia side is also great, and even I like the place. she talked about how to make sustainability green, and that the concept of globalization is in their DNA, so they don't separate the local from the global. She also talked about the third point: safety, right? These are all key elements that I think are very important for the construction of the Beijing CBD or for the next development of China's economic cities. In the following time, I would like to invite our Chinese speakers to share their ideas for 5 minutes each, and I would like to invite Mr. Chen Bin to share his ideas. Mr. Chen, please share.
CHEN Bin, Director, Head of Project & Development Services, North China at Cushman & Wakefield
Thank you for this opportunity to share some of my views and those of my company on the development of Beijing in general and the CBD in particular. Of course, I will mainly focus on the green-related aspects of sustainable development. The importance of the CBD has been emphasized since the 1990s. At that time, Beijing's CBD was just starting to develop, from the China World Trade Center to the Jingguang Center, to the Kunlun Hotel and Liangmahe. In the beginning, the Third Ring Road had not yet been built. As Director Chen said, we've developed step by step until we have such a CBD today. What else does the CBD have besides tall, big buildings? It also brings a huge number of high-quality employment opportunities and excellent tax contributions. Needless to say, for example, as we mentioned earlier, more than 50% of the enterprises and basically 100% of the embassies in Beijing are located in this area. This is all due to the fact that the CBD is such a unique area -- not only in China but also in other major cities around the world.
In Beijing, the CBD is slowly expanding from the traditional Third Ring Road to other districts, which are also called CBDs, such as Wangjing CBD or Zhongguancun CBD. They all follow a model of multi-center and gradual development. But in fact, the CBD also faces huge challenges, one of which is that the buildings in the CBD are generally too tall. Let me give you an example. Every building is like a creature. If you have the opportunity to go into its basement to take a look at the state of operation of those pump chambers, I believe you will have the same feeling as I do: if people don't maintain it, the building may stop functioning in merely a week.
One of the major challenges faced by CBD is the huge amount of energy consumption. Lighting, heating, and air-conditioning in winter and summer, CBD's consumption of electricity is huge, especially for stores, and the amount of carbon emissions per capita is naturally very high. Another challenge is that the traffic in the area, represented by East Third Ring Road, is very congested, which makes the time of commute rather long. People always say that in the CBD, it takes about 40 minutes to go to any place from the China World Trade Center. This also leads to a large number of cars around the CBD, looking for parking spaces, which generates a lot of exhaust emissions. In addition, with the development of e-commerce, there is a lot of disposable consumption in all the buildings, such as the packaging of express delivery, take-away lunch boxes, and so on. All of these uses have brought great pressure on garbage classification and garbage disposal.
What can the CBD do in terms of sustainable development? First, adopt firmly the concept of green building design. Most of the newly built buildings are built according to the two-star green building, LEED, or WELL certification standards, so it's not a big problem. But there are also quite a lot of older buildings -- for example, the Kerry Center that our company is in, which was completed in 1997. But over the past 20 to 30 years, Kerry Center has continued to repair itself, such as landscaping, upgrading its facilities, and adopting new technologies, so it now has green building certification, LEED certification, WELL certification, air quality-related certifications, and certifications related to zero waste. It has upgraded its old buildings to excellent condition. With the development of the trade-in policy enacted by the government, I believe that all these old buildings have a good opportunity to be upgraded. Another thing is the transportation system. I think there is much room for improvement in the transportation system of the CBD. Congestion causes people to waste a lot of time in traffic and also leads to serious air pollution. Of course, we still lack an intelligent transportation system. The transportation system on the national level, for example, the one-hour economic circle between Beijing and Tianjin, the future (transportation) to Xiongan, Beijing's Third Ring Road, the Fourth Ring Road, and other ground transportation, has a lot of room for improvement. If there is an opportunity in the future, I can share more about these aspects.
Another is the circular economy. The circular economy includes reducing the use of plastic packaging and finding a better way to dispose of waste. In Japan, for example, waste is usually disposed of on-site in the building's own facilities, where it is turned into carbon-based materials and then shipped out for replacement. Beijing may also follow this path in the future, which is a more economical way: dispose of the waste in the building itself, recycle it, burn it, and then return the heat generated to the building to be heated - for example, to heat hot water or the space -- so as to make a contribution to the recycling economy. Of course, public participation is also important. Also, in the long run, the government is the biggest contributor to the green economy. I'm running out of time, so I won't say much more. Finally, let's work together to create a greener and more sustainable CBD living environment for us. Let's contribute together. Thank you.
Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow, CCG
Thank you, Mr. Chen. I think Mr. Chen's presentation was excellent, covering the basic infrastructure and the development of infrastructure over the years. You also mentioned many important considerations and issues in the development of green initiatives.
Next, I would like to invite Ms. Evelyn Wu, Chief Representative of BBZ Academy (Switzerland) China Office. Please welcome Ms. Evelyn Wu.
Evelyn Wu, Chief Representative of BBZ Academy (Switzerland) China Office, Deputy Director of Green Investment & Finance Committee, Beijing Green Finance Association (BGFA)
Thank you, host. Distinguished guests, dear friends, Minister Jiang, Director Chen, Secretary-General Miao, good afternoon, everyone. I am very pleased and honored to have received the invitation from CCG to share some of our observations and suggestions on sustainability today. The topic of my presentation is "Empowering ESG to Enable CBD, Creating a Green Sustainable Development City Brand." I would like to break this down into three levels, which I call W-P-S: W (Why), which addresses the causes; P (Performance and Problems), which covers the achievements we have made and the issues we are currently facing; and S (Solutions and Suggestions), which outlines our measures and recommendations.
First, what are the causes? As we can see, today we are at a globalization-themed forum, but in reality, environmental issues, economic inequality, cultural conflicts, and the sluggish global economy are all posing significant challenges and dilemmas to globalization. These challenges have led us to constantly think about how to break through the traditional economic development model and find a sustainable development path. The concept of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) has emerged in this context. The demand for high-quality development in business districts is, in fact, an application scenario where the ESG concept empowers new quality productive forces. This is my basic viewpoint.
With this in mind, it is also necessary to look at the achievements and challenges of ESG in promoting sustainable development, particularly in terms of CBD. There are three main aspects or manifestations: The first is reflected in the city's governance system. The second is reflected in the green development strategies of management departments. The third is reflected in the strategic development of enterprises.
For example, in March 2024, the Beijing Development and Reform Commission issued the Implementation Plan for the high-quality Development of Beijing's Environmental and Social Governance (ESG) system (Draft for Comments). Additionally, many regulatory bodies incorporate the ESG concept when formulating and analyzing policies, including regional economic development plans.
Then let's look at some data. As of May, over 40% of A-share listed companies in China have released ESG disclosure reports, a significant increase compared to less than 20% in 2019. This represents a remarkable improvement, not only in quantity but also in quality. In addition, one of Beijing's traditional brands has proactively integrated the ESG concept into its green sustainable development efforts. These are some of the achievements we have witnessed.
Of course, there are also many challenges. Firstly, achieving widespread consensus on ESG is essential. This consensus cannot be limited to writing a report or a few articles; it must be implemented in practice. What is needed is concrete governance and action.
Secondly, the proliferation of standards across different regions and industries has left many practitioners at a loss, which is also a significant issue. Thirdly, regulatory bodies need to intensify their efforts when setting ESG disclosure requirements. Without stronger enforcement, achieving a positive cycle remains challenging.
These are the issues observed. Now, let's move on to the measures and suggestions. Firstly, since CBD aims to be global and remain at the forefront, they must lead by example. Therefore, integrating resources domestically and internationally, as well as across different fields, is essential. For example, as mentioned earlier, an association focused on ESG or a sustainable development association could be established to drive the creation of an ESG ecosystem in the city using green industry innovation as an engine.
Secondly, strengthen the value chain and enhance its value by developing the ESG industry chain and creating a blueprint for CBD. For example, leverage the demonstration effect of ESG investment to integrate financial resources.
Thirdly, establish an ESG service chain to serve as facilitators of innovative development in business districts and provide top-notch global services. For instance, develop a green, eco-friendly smart platform to enhance our service quality through digitalization.
Finally, I have four key points to conclude in the remaining 10 seconds: First, innovation and practicality are the primary productive forces. Second, green sustainability is the universal model. Third, openness and cooperation are the only paths forward. Fourth, win-win and shared success are our fundamental goals. Thank you.
Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow, CCG
Thank you, Ms. Wu, for sharing such valuable and concrete insights. Your suggestions on practice and resource integration, as well as the implementation of ESG, are excellent.
Next, let's welcome Mr. Guo Yinbo, General Manager and Founder of Wuxi Jinyunzhilian Corporation (Xiaomi Eco-system), to share your thoughts on this topic from a technological perspective.
GUO Yinbo, CCG Senior Council Member; General Manager and Founder of Wuxi Jinyunzhilian Corporation (Xiaomi Eco-system)
Thank you, Director Liu. It is an honor to be invited to this forum as a startup. I'm also honored to participate alongside Minister Jiang, Secretary-General Miao, and Director Chen.
First, let me introduce our company, as it relates to what I will discuss next. We are a startup under the Xiaomi ecosystem focused on spatial intelligence. We build upon Xiaomi's foundation to develop spatial AI and apply innovative technologies. Initially, we had a branch in the CBD, but we later moved to Shangdi, [a high-tech area in Beijing,] as it is more convenient to recruit tech talent there, and the traffic is less congested compared to the CBD.
From the very beginning, we have been an international company, operating with a global perspective. Chinese manufacturing technology has a competitive edge overseas, and Xiaomi’s technology has a penetration rate of 300 million households worldwide. Combining these strengths, we see significant opportunities for expansion abroad. Recently, our focus for the next two to three years is on Southeast Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. We plan to prioritize Europe and North America in the next phase, as we need to address legal issues, localization challenges, and cultural adjustments.
The reason I introduced our company in this way is to highlight our close connection with the development of the CBD and business districts.
First, it is crucial to internationalize. Expanding overseas requires overcoming legal issues, cultural differences, and local talent recruitment challenges. I believe collaborating with the CBD or leveraging the CBD platform's strengths, can be highly beneficial. For example, as Director Chen mentioned, there are branches in Singapore and the Middle East. Using CBD as a stepping stone to go global from China is advantageous.
Recently, we met with Malaysian government officials in the CBD and discussed various cooperation initiatives. We plan to establish localized operations in Malaysia later this year. If CBD can provide the necessary talent and support tools, it will expedite our localization process.
Secondly, in our work on spatial intelligence, we address several key issues. The first is room intelligence, primarily focusing on smart homes. This year marks the beginning of the silver economy, making home-based elderly care, wellness, and smart home services crucial. We have developed numerous AI innovations and smart hardware in this area. Recently, we have been collaborating with Taikang Insurance Group and China Railway Jiankang Industry Development Investment Co., Ltd.
Intelligent solutions for CBD offices are also necessary. For instance, how can we make rooms and high-rise buildings in the CBD more energy-efficient? How can we ensure more convenient access? How can we integrate office work with enterprise operations? This is one of our focus areas.
Additionally, we are working on community intelligence. For example, how can we ensure safer and more convenient access to communities? Visitor management is particularly important. This is another area we are concentrating on.
At the same time, I also believe that when the CBD expands overseas, managing intelligent buildings will be one of our strengths. We have collaborated with Xiaomi to develop many innovative hardware solutions, and we have also engaged in software development, working seamlessly with WPS and Microsoft on office integration. Therefore, I believe that as the CBD creates new areas or buildings in the future, we can provide excellent services.
Although we moved from the CBD to Shangdi, we are currently considering establishing a branch in the CBD again. That is because, besides technology development, business operations are also a crucial part. That's all from me, thank you.
Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow, CCG
Thank you, Mr. Guo. I believe Mr. Guo's speech highlighted how, through Director Chen's Beijing CBD platform, a Xiaomi ecosystem startup can internationalize from the very beginning. This international gene not only empowers but also enables the next generation of tech industries to thrive on this platform, growing stronger continuously. Very insightful sharing.
Next, I would like to invite Mr. Mu Jingchuan, Project Advisor at the United Nations Office of South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC), to share his insights on how Beijing CBD can truly become a global CBD.
MU Jingchuan, Project Advisor, United Nations Office of South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC)
Thank you very much, host. Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. It is a great honor to have the opportunity to participate in today's forum. First of all, on behalf of the United Nations Office of South-South Cooperation, I would like to thank CCG for its outstanding expertise in supporting South-South and trilateral cooperation over the years.
Regarding the important role that CBD plays in promoting sustainable development, many experts have already shared their insights, so I won't go into further detail.
Developing countries, when developing CBD, often face similar challenges and issues, such as limited financial capacity, inadequate infrastructure, environmental problems, and social issues.
To address these challenges, South-South, and trilateral cooperation is of great significance for enhancing mutual learning and establishing partnerships. To meet the growing demands of cities and other partners, the United Nations Office of South-South Cooperation, through the funds and platforms we manage, fully utilizes the expertise of various UN agencies. We actively promote South-South and trilateral cooperation, facilitating knowledge sharing, experience exchange, and partnership connections for cities in developing countries.
In the past few years, together with other United Nations agencies and with the financial support of the Chinese government, we have organized and conducted field research and online needs assessments to understand urban development needs. Additionally, we have implemented pilot projects to promote best practices, organized on-site training sessions, workshops, webinars, thematic city exchanges, and certification training courses.
Based on the development needs of cities and institutions in developing countries, the UNOSSC has gradually launched thematic city clusters on the South-South Galaxy platform. These clusters are online communities of practice designed to share knowledge and experiences, promote horizontal cooperation among cities and institutions in developing countries, and support local professionals in connecting with various UN specialized agencies.
I'd like to invite more cities and institutions to join our city clusters and engage in exchanges and cooperation with other cities and partners. I also encourage everyone to visit the South-South Galaxy platform to share or find feasible and replicable solutions.
Beijing CBD has accumulated extensive expertise and best practices in urban planning, smart city technology, and sustainable economic growth. Sharing this knowledge and these practices with cities in other developing countries can help them avoid common development pitfalls and accelerate their own growth. We are willing to work together with CCG, the Beijing CBD Management Committee, and other partners to jointly promote South-South and trilateral cooperation in CBD development.
Finally, I wish this forum a great success. Thank you, everyone.
Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow, CCG
Thank you, Mr. Mu. I think your points were excellent. In the development of Beijing CBD, it is crucial to have channels for exchange and cooperation between South-South countries. In this way, many countries can learn from the best practices we've established in economic development and avoid common pitfalls. This approach will truly help in transforming Beijing CBD into both China's and the world's CBD. Once again, thank you, Mr. Mu.
Next, our final guest is the farthest from me [at the roundtable], but his topic is probably the most interesting. Let's welcome Mr. You Yang. As everyone has discussed before, we've talked about individuality, green initiatives, methods, foundations, technology, and as Mr. Mu mentioned, the window for global communication. However, if a place isn't interesting, it can become a bit boring, right? So how can we make it interesting? Mr. You, can you share with us how to make these workplaces more engaging and enjoyable? Please welcome Mr. You.
YOU Yang, Director, X Museum
Thank you, Mr. Liu, for the introduction. I work in an art museum. I find it important to note that the art museum has been a typical product of urban space since the 18th century, with the earliest example being the Musée du Louvre in Paris in 1793. Firstly, it reflects the construction of a values community of nation-states, and secondly, it is an essential part of each city's cultural and leisure facilities. Therefore, it has always provided pleasurable cultural and leisure functions. And in our country, there is also the spirit of great art, which promotes aesthetic education, among other things.
The art museum has always had a symbiotic relationship with urban development. It is only when society reaches a certain level of development that cultural spaces matching its productivity would emerge. On the other hand, the output of the art museum also influences the local urban community. Considering the collaborative and symbiotic relationship between the art museum and the community, there are generally four key elements.
The first element is its users, who are extremely important. When we look at the future, we may envision very intelligent communities, but they lack a served audience. Such communities might not necessarily need a living, breathing art museum or gallery.
The second point is that it must have specific urban spaces. As we know, the entire development of cities today is based on units of space, which could be commercial spaces, restaurant spaces, art museum spaces, and so on.
The third point is the production relationships in its area, which should be as diverse as possible.
The fourth point, which is very important, is that it must have a community identity. This community identity reflects a dimension that might be achieved through pleasurable leisure activities, encompassing shared values or beliefs.
Looking at the Beijing CBD from these four perspectives, its level of development is already very high, and its current pace of development remains rapid. Therefore, I believe its advantages are very prominent. I have identified three key advantages, which are not only unparalleled within China but also taking the lead globally.
The first advantage I would like to highlight can be summarized with the keyword "density." This density refers not only to the density of buildings and various types of production relationships but also to the density of talent and material resources. More importantly, it points to the density of globalized information. This high density in all these aspects can be transformed into a very strong productive force for contemporary art and cultural production.
The second advantage of CBD today, in my opinion, is that it has many channels. What does this mean? For instance, in the realm of art, we often feel that art today is not confined. Since the 1960s, art museums have advocated the concept of "museums without walls," encouraging artworks to step out of their buildings. However, taking art out of the museum is not simply about placing sculptures in office lobbies or parks. Instead, contemporary art production today truly leverages an interdisciplinary and cross-media practice spirit and reflects the different supply-demand relationships and production relationships within communities. Therefore, CBD inherently possesses these rich conditions.
The third advantage of the CBD is, compared to places like Wangjing or other cities' CBDs, the cultural and artistic resources and spaces in the CBD are already very rich. For example, we are currently in a location that is within walking distance to places like Taikang Group's Taikang Art Museum, the Yuan Art Museum just opened this year by Mr. Zhang Dejun, the King & Wood Mallesons Art Center by lawyer Wang Yue, and our Antaeus Group's Today Art Museum, which is already well-established. Of course, there's also the nearby famous contemporary cultural window of Beijing -- the 798 Art District, and the most important academy of Chinese art, the Central Academy of Fine Arts, among others. Additionally, as Director Chen mentioned earlier, the future fourth embassy area will be placed in the Dongba district, where I am currently working at X Art Museum (currently located in the Langyuan Station community).
The CBD's existing cultural resources are very abundant, including not just exhibition art, but also the three major functions of art spaces: the cultural function, the economic function, and what we might call the ideological function. Regarding the economic function, you see, Beijing is hosting two of the most important art fairs this weekend, attracting art collectors and art dealers from all over the world, both taking place in Chaoyang District—one at the Agriculture Exhibition Center and one at the SKP mall. In 2005, when I first entered the industry, my first job was at China World Trade Center. At that time, our exhibition hall at Guomao was called the China International Gallery Exposition, an international gallery trade fair. So, our area's production in art commerce and art economy is also very rich.
The existing resources in the CBD, along with the high density of information we previously mentioned, and the diverse production relationships here, suggest that the potential for future art spaces in this area is very promising. Lastly, we hope that our art institutions in the Dongba community can also participate in the urban renewal development of our capital in the future. Thank you, everyone, and thank you to the host.
Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow, CCG
Thank you, Director You. I think Director You has really shown us, in terms of the future development of the CBD, what we truly need on a spiritual level. Our future CBD shouldn't just be about simple, beautiful, and magnificent buildings with exhausted workers; instead, our spirit should be very rich. I believe this also serves as a platform to showcase Chinese culture and the cultural heritage of Beijing. How can we integrate China's modern, classical, and future elements together?
So, this is a very good point, a real "finishing touch," right? You just mentioned museums, so now we would like to invite our online guests to join us. When we talk about museums and art, we have two guests online who will share their insights with us. First, if we talk about museums, one place that must be mentioned is France, specifically Paris.
We are fortunate to have Mr. Kaisheng Liu, Chairman of the Franco-Chinese Association for Sustainable Urban Development, with us. So, we would like Mr. Liu to share his thoughts on how Beijing's CBD can become an international CBD from a cultural and spiritual perspective, and what good ideas from France he can share with us. Please welcome Chairman Liu.
Kaisheng Liu, Chairman, Franco-Chinese Association for Sustainable Urban Development, France
Hello, everyone. Thank you for the invitation. I would also like to greet President Wang Huiyao and Secretary-General Miao, as we had the opportunity to discuss these topics at the CCG meeting in Paris last year. Indeed, our association is built on the concept of sustainable development, creating a new type of technological association. Our main focus is to promote collaboration between governments, enterprises, and research institutions to drive sustainable development.
The CBD is essentially the core economic activity zone and a hub for cultural exchange in a city. The previous guests' speech covered many of our association's development concepts, including transportation issues mentioned by Mr. Chen, smart home and smart office products discussed by Mr. Guo, the standardization of ESG planning for communities brought up by Mr. Wu, and how developing countries can benefit and participate in globalization as Mr. Mu mentioned. The discussion about museums was also very interesting as it touches upon key technical areas of our association, such as urban planning, transportation, energy, and environmental issues, including density and connectivity within spaces—not just for people and goods, but also for markets.
Paris, indeed, is a city with a rich cultural and technological heritage. This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and France. I just returned from a discussion at the Chinese Consulate in France, where we talked about strengthening cooperation with France. The most important areas of focus are science and technology, culture, and tourism, with many delegations engaging in exchange activities this year.
Regarding sustainable development, one of the most pressing issues is climate change. We have recently established the Sino-French Carbon Neutrality Research Center to support China's dual carbon reduction national strategy and to foster constructive cooperation with France in this area. We believe that France can guide China in how to engage in trilateral cooperation with Africa, as Mr. Mu mentioned, to ensure developing countries benefit from these initiatives. To provide some context with simple data: according to the World Bank data from 2019, the urbanization rate in Africa was about 43% across 54 countries. It is projected to reach 60% by 2050. With an estimated population of 2.4 billion, African cities will face enormous pressure from population growth and increased demand for infrastructure, housing, employment, and transportation.
What are the solutions? Currently, the two governments are discussing how to create innovative demonstration projects, such as smart eco-cities, smart CBDs, and green sustainable development projects. Since 2007, the Chinese and French presidents have signed a "Sino-French Sustainable Urban Development Cooperation Agreement," setting up several demonstration projects in cities like Wuhan, Chengdu, and Shenyang. These projects involve cooperation between French technical consortiums, such as the REFA International Alliance, and research institutions, and enterprises in local Chinese governments to build eco-cities with Chinese regional characteristics.
Such policy-driven cooperative projects are also suitable for Sino-French-African cooperation. In 2015, our association participated in the COP21, where we received delegations from Africa who expressed a strong interest in similar national agreements, such as Sino-African or Franco-African sustainable urban development agreements.
At the current level, we hope to explore and build urbanization projects with African characteristics through joint efforts. The CBD is a central component of this. If urbanization in Africa leads to economic improvement, it will naturally enhance living standards and employment, thereby addressing issues like illegal immigration to Europe, which is a concern for France. China has already invested heavily in African infrastructure and hopes to collaborate with France to develop the African continent better from both technical and cultural perspectives, addressing humanitarian issues.
The third aspect involves practical implementation. We could set up demonstration projects in Africa that feature African-style CBDs. Chinese and French companies and research institutions, especially in energy, transportation, materials, environment, biodiversity, internet, and artificial intelligence, have complementary experience and technology. Through innovative demonstration projects, we can build smart, eco-friendly, and inclusive CBDs in Africa, fostering growth for local startups and their partners. This would be a win-win-win framework for China, France, and Africa, making globalization more sustainable and beneficial for all parties involved. This concludes my brief remarks on Sino-French-African cooperation.
Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow, CCG
Alright, thank you very much, Chairman Liu. That was very comprehensive. Due to time constraints, we are especially grateful for your participation, joining us from France early in the morning. Now, I would like to invite Mr. Xiaomeng Wang, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Association of Science and Technology in Switzerland. Mr. Wang, please.
Xiaomeng Wang, Vice Chairman, Chinese Association of Science and Technology, Switzerland
Thank you, Chairman Liu. Distinguished Minister Jiang, President Wang, esteemed guests both online and offline, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. I am very pleased to participate in this forum. Today, we have heard many important and interesting viewpoints. Now, I would like to share my thoughts on the challenges globalization faces and how CBDs can help us address these challenges.
I have two main points today. First, in the current environment, ESG, as Mr. Wu mentioned, should be the bridge to rebuild trust between the East and the West and to reconstruct global trade routes. Second, CBDs are crucial hubs for globalization and can play a significant role in promoting ESG principles and reshaping global concepts.
Let's first talk about the challenges globalization faces, which we've discussed extensively today. These include geopolitical conflicts, protectionism, trade wars, climate change, public health crises, technological decoupling, and extremism—major problems we are currently confronting.
However, I believe that beyond these challenges, we need to recognize that globalization itself is not a goal. Instead, it is an outcome of our economic and technological development. If this development benefits only a part of the population while ignoring or excluding the interests of others—such as traditional local economies, workers' incomes, and their living environments—this development will face contradictions and become unsustainable. Generally, for long-term development issues, we can use tools and theories like ESG to help analyze and manage them. ESG principles aim to consider the interests of a broader range of stakeholders. If our development goals and paths take into account environmental impacts, social equity, and good governance, then economic growth will be more inclusive and fair, ensuring resilience and sustainability.
Currently, ESG standards are very stringent in the EU and the US, becoming a necessity. In China, ESG practices are also rapidly developing and gaining much attention. In major global markets, the commonality is that ESG focuses on long-term and widespread benefits. Therefore, we believe ESG can be a bridge to rebalance global development consensus. By integrating ESG into economic policies and corporate development strategies, we can revitalize economic exchanges and reconnect the global economy.
Now, let's talk about CBD. CBD is the key infrastructure for global economic cooperation, central to local business hubs, concentrating knowledge and commercial resources, and being the core of economic activities and innovation. CBD provides an excellent platform for companies to share their best ESG practices, especially in promoting ESG entrepreneurship. The corporate clusters within CBD can more easily collaborate on sustainable projects, leveraging each other's strengths.
From the perspective of CBD construction, as mentioned today, green buildings and urban planning are crucial. As part of the city, CBD plays a significant role in urban renewal and sustainable development, ensuring long-term benefits for local communities and enhancing their global influence.
By focusing on environmental sustainability and social inclusiveness in CBD construction, CBD can establish standards for leading urban sustainable development. To summarize, ESG is a crucial icebreaker for addressing globalization challenges, rebuilding trust between the East and the West, and establishing mutual communication channels. Additionally, CBD can promote ESG and help all parties achieve a balanced and prosperous future. Thank you, everyone.
Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow, CCG
Thank you, Chairman Wang, for sharing very valuable insights. I'm going to ask each participant speaker to give one sentence to summarize your wishlist. Maybe I will start with our Chinese colleagues. You may have one minute to think of how you want to conclude your speech. Many audience members have patiently listened through today's extensive activities. We now have with us Atakan ÖZDEMİR, Chief Commercial Counsellor at the Turkish Embassy. I know this has been a long day. You have listened through all these presentations or interventions about new ideas. Can you share from a Turkish perspective some best practices or the things we can learn in order to make Beijing CBD a truly global hub for innovation?
Atakan ÖZDEMİR, Chief Commercial Counsellor, Embassy of Turkey, Beijing
Thank you very much, Mike. Thank you very much to all the participants. It was very interesting to listen to their views. Thanks again for giving me the floor to express my views.
Most of the time as a chief commercial counselor, I am invited to this sort of meetings to present what kind of investment opportunities Türkiye provides to the potential investors. In order to get some inspiration, I usually have a look at the web page of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies. There are 143 members of that platform, which is comprised of investment promotion agencies.
Interestingly, the main argument of each investment promotion agency to convince the potential investors to invest in their country is their geographical location, just like my colleague has mentioned, without any exception--143 of them, starting from the north pole, Norway, Sweden, and all the way to the south, to Australia. My beloved country, Türkiye, is the same in that sense. We all highlight how unique, how strategic geographic location we have. At least the investment agencies do that and my beloved country does the same thing. On our web page, you can see what a terrific, wonderful geographic location Türkiye has.
But is it just a lack of creativity of the web designers or is it really something that matters? I think geographical location really matters because of the importance of transportation for all of us. There are many studies on this subject, but I will just quote a few of them. One-day delay in international trade results in a one percent loss of exports and trade for any given country. If you double the transportation cost, according to the Asian Development Bank's reports, it is really associated with zero 0.5% of slower GDP. So transportation and location really matter.
For Turkey, reportedly once Napoleon Bonaparte, the famous strategist said that had the world been one country, Istanbul would be its capital. We have a terrific location, a very strategic location. Just having a look at the flight schedule of Turkish Airlines will explain many to us because, for many years, Turkish Airlines ranks number one in terms of destination among the other airlines. Turkish Airlines flies through 194 destinations in more than 120 countries. For many years, it has been number one because it has a very strategic location.
What Istanbul offers is, first of all, that very strategic location which investors should take into consideration. Now we have Istanbul Financial Center (IFC), which last year concluded its whole construction process. Now it offers an area of 1,000,300 square meters. It is a governmental project but it also offers to the companies, mostly to the financial companies because when we talk about the business district -- I have just learned from Mr. Han that even in Beijing (CBD), 60% are financial institutions.
For financial institutions, you need to provide them all with the "habitat," which in English is the environment. Each country and each city should provide the requirements of these multinationals and provide transportation for them because just as time matters for nations and their trade, time also matters for companies. So it is another point that transportation requirements of these cities should also be fulfilled and it must be provided.
In Türkiye's experience, I have a question for [inaudible] and also for Mr. Bing. Türkiye offers some incentives for companies, including finance companies to have investments and carry their headquarters to the Istanbul Finance Center. To be honest, these are very generous incentives, sometimes 60% of the taxes of the personnel wages, sometimes 100% of the export services income taxes (are exempted). I really wonder if there is that sort of incentive provided by Guangzhou or Beijing district or in Paris, and does it really help the companies to make their decisions to invest or to carry their headquarters to the business districts? This is my question. Thank you very much again for giving me this opportunity and thanks for your patience as well.
Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow, CCG
Thank you so much. Turkey is a nation connecting Europe and Asia. We can definitely learn from that mentality to be truly global. For the sake of time, maybe I keep your question to Director Wu.
Evelyn Wu, Chief Representative of BBZ Academy (Switzerland) China Office, Deputy Director of Green Investment & Finance Committee, Beijing Green Finance Association (BGFA)
I can't say I have much experience, but I can share a little bit of what I have learned. Due to the time constraints, I hope that I can be of some help in this sharing. In fact, just now when I talked about our measures and recommendations, I actually touched on finance. We also know that the ESG concept, in fact, in Western countries or overseas, is initially an investment strategy. It is through the ESG investment strategy that enterprises can be attracted or guided to initiate their own sustainable development management to strive for better quality.
When it comes to CBD, we hope that a CBD financial institution can be established to apply ESG concepts in investing in high-quality enterprises or projects, which could have a demonstration effect on CBD management. At the same time, this demonstration effect can be combined with preferential and supportive policies created by the CBD, which means that the demonstration effect and the policies can be used together to promote or attract enterprises to come to CBD. This is the first dimension.
On the second dimension, in fact, the investment made based on the ESG concept is more involved with an entire supply chain and an industrial chain, and the practice of the concept of ESG in investment can enhance the quality of the supply chain and the industrial chain. For example, China is building a series of green industry chains, which will enable enterprises to move towards sustainable development because the ESG investment philosophy is to judge the performance of the enterprise's non-financial indicators. In other words, an investor will not only look at the financial indicators, but also the non-financial indicators of the company so that the company will know that as it grows, it not only has to have a good revenue, it has to have a good income, but it also has to pay attention to the environment, it has to have a social responsibility, and it has to do a good job of its corporate governance.
From this point of view, in such a favorable business environment as CBD, the combination of the demonstration effect of investing in companies practicing ESG concepts and policies can attract more quality companies.
Mike Liu, Vice President and Senior Fellow, CCG
Thank you, Ms. Wu. As we are now out of time, I would like to ask Mr. You to summarize with one sentence.
YOU Yang, Director, X Museum
The art museum co-develops with the Central Business District to produce community memories and enhance community identity.
MU Jingchuan, Project Advisor, United Nations Office of South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC)
I hope that we can work together with everyone here to promote more South-South third-party cooperation on an equal footing and for mutual benefit. Thank you.
GUO Yinbo, CCG Senior Council Member; General Manager and Founder of Wuxi Jinyunzhilian Corporation (Xiaomi Eco-system)
We hope to promote the sustainable development of CBD in the ESG context through technological innovation and artificial intelligence.
Evelyn Wu, Chief Representative of BBZ Academy (Switzerland) China Office, Deputy Director of Green Investment & Finance Committee, Beijing Green Finance Association (BGFA)
I would like to share what our team often says: shaping a sustainable future so that the future can be passed on.
CHEN Bin, Director, Head of Project & Development Services, North China at Cushman & Wakefield
I believe that Beijing CBD will evolve into a better and better model.
Mojca Deželak, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Slovenia in China
Yes, I wanted to actually save the best for the last. So thank you for this. I wanted to maybe conclude also thanking CCG for cooperating with us with the last visit that we just recently had with H.E. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon here in Beijing. She was accompanied by 71 businessmen regarding building bridges that we just spoke about throughout this session. Maybe concluding with building bridges regarding arts, business environment, and all that finally brings us to people and to all kinds of cooperation and probably in the combination of all that the success lies. So thank you very much.
David Blair, Vice President and Senior Economist at the Center for China and Globalization(CCG)
Two quick warnings. One is, one thing that can make a place very uninnovative is extraordinarily high housing prices. We've seen that in cities all around the world. You can't have starving artists if you don't have garrets. The second is beware of too much reliance on finance because they drive up the prices so high that nobody else can survive in the city.