On 28 May 2021, the ASEAN-China (Shandong) SME Conference for Cooperation and Development,co-hosted by Shandong Provincial People’s Government and the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC),was held in Jinan, Shandong Province. More than 200 people attended the offline activities, including officials from Shandong provincial government, diplomaticmissions of ASEAN Member States (AMS) in China, and representatives from economic and trade organizations of Shandong and companies of both sides. The live-stream of the opening ceremony onlinereceived over 26,000 visits.

Mr. Liu Jiayi, Secretary of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee, attended the conference. Mr. Li Ganjie, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Shandong Provincial Committee and Governor of Shandong Province, Mrs. Khek M. Caimealy, Head of the Delegation of diplomatic missions and Ambassador of Cambodiato China, Mr. DjauhariOratmangun, Ambassador of Indonesiato China, Mr. Raja Nushirwan Zainal Abidin, Ambassador of Malaysia to China, Mrs. KhamphaoErnthavanh, Ambassador of Lao PDR to China and Mr. Chen Dehai, Secretary-General of ACC, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. Mr. Satvinder Singh, Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN,Mr. Deng Xijun, Chinese Ambassador to ASEAN and Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, former President of the Philippines, made online speeches.

Secretary Liu Jiayi talkedonline with Mr. Carlos Chan, Chairman of PhilippineLiwayway Groupand Mr. John Nelson, CEO of Singapore UTAC Group. He expressed expectations for expanding cooperation on projects, promoting economic and trade cooperation,and deepening people-to-people exchanges between Shandong and AMS.

Governor Li Ganjie mentioned that ASEAN-Shandongfriendship enjoys a long history and fruitful results. He expected that the two sides could deepen practical cooperation, jointly write a new chapter for bilateral cooperation, and usher in a promising future of mutual-benefits.

In their speeches, AmbassadorDjauhariOratmangun, AmbassadorRaja Nushirwan Zainal Abidin and AmbassadorKhamphaoErnthavanhshowedstrong confidence in deepening all-around cooperation between ASEAN and China as well as ASEAN and Shandong, and looked forward to strengthening practical cooperation in multiple ways with China and Shandong.

Secretary-General Chen Dehai mentioned that the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will bring more market opportunities, better investment environment and higher investment returns for SMEs of both ASEAN and China.

The ASEAN-Shandong (Dezhou) SME Alliance and theDezhou-ASEAN Research Center were unveiledatthe conference. Dezhou Municipal People’s Government and ACC signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Enhancing Two-Way Exchanges. Nineteen projects in such fields asimports and exports, investment cooperation and financial support were signed on site witha total amount of more than RMB 27 billion.

Underthe theme of “Prospects and Opportunities: ASEAN-China SME Cooperation and Development in the Context of RCEP”, the conference consistsof the opening ceremony, ASEAN-China Trade and Investment Promotion, Business-match Meeting, photo exhibition of ASEAN Countries and their interactions with Shandong and field visits toJinan, Dezhou, Jining and Tai’an.

After the opening ceremony, Secretary-General Chen Dehai, along with other guests, visited the photo exhibition and attended the exchange activities hosted by Dezhou municipal government.