On 1 September 2022, The Global Entrepreneurs Summit on Trade in Services, hosted by the Global Alliance for Trade in Services, was held in Beijing. Mr. Cai Qi, Secretary of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee, and Mr. Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce of China, attended the opening ceremony. Mr. Sheng Qiuping, Vice Minister of Commerce, Mr. Yang Jinbai, Vice Mayor of Beijing, Dr. Ann Derwin, Ambassador of Ireland to China, and Ms. Beate Trankmann, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in China, delivered speeches at the opening ceremony. ACC representative attended the summit.

Sheng Qiuping said that China attaches great importance to the development of trade in services. In recent years, China has continuously promoted reform, opening up and innovation in the field of trade in services with fruitful outcomes. China is willing to further deepen global exchanges and cooperation, share China’s development opportunities, continue to promote the improvement of rules and regulations, and contribute wisdom and strength to the development of global trade in services.

Yang Jinbai said that Beijing will actively promote the development of key service sectors such as finance, information and culture, further ease market access, and strive to create a market-oriented, rule-based business environment that is up to international standard, so as to play a better leading role of Beijing in the opening up of China’s trade in services.

Ann Derwin said that through the implementation of the Innovation Exchange programme and the National Cluster Policy, the Irish government has been promoting innovation exchanges and cooperation among large enterprises and SMEs, enhancing the competitiveness, productivity and innovation capacities of all types of enterprises, and promoting investment and talent development, in order to better fulfill the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Beate Trankmann called on all parties to build an inclusive digital economy and digital ecology that are beneficial for all, cultivate entrepreneurship to provide impetus for the dual drivers of innovation and entrepreneurship, and make unremitting efforts to achieve the UN’s SDGs.

Under the theme of “the Power of Innovation”, the Summit was attended both online and offline by about 300 representatives from Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the Beijing Municipal Government, international organisations and institutions, foreign embassies in China, multinational corporations, industry associations and think tanks. Participants delivered keynote speeches and exchanged views on topics such as “Direction and Impetus of Innovative Development Services Trade” and “Impact of Regional Cooperation on Innovative Development of Trade in Services”. The summit also released the Report on Global Innovation Trends of Trade in Services 2022.