CONSULATE GENERAL PARTICIPATES IN 2021 HANGZHOU BUSINESS-MATCHING EVENT

Consul Conrado Demdem (left) and Commercial Vice Consul Mario Tani at the 2021 Hangzhou Belt & Road Countries Business Matching Seminar.

Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 21 May 2021 – Recognizing the potential for economic linkages with the dynamic Yangtze River Delta Region, the Philippine Consulate General participated in a business-matching and technology zone tour for consular missions in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, on 19-20 May.
Consul and Economic Officer Conrado B. Demdem, Jr. and Philippine Trade and Investment Center Director and Commercial Vice Consul Mario C. Tani joined diplomats from 18 other Consulates General at the 2021 Hangzhou Belt & Road Countries Business Matching Seminar at the Xinqiao Hotel.
The two-day event was helmed by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT)-Hangzhou Committee, in cooperation with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC)-Hangzhou Committee, the Hangzhou Foreign Affairs Office, and the Hangzhou Federation of Industry and Commerce.
Hangzhou is “promoting the spirit of (China’s) Belt & Road” and its espousal of “peace, win-win cooperation, openness, and inclusiveness”, said Hangzhou CPPCC Chairman Pan Jiawei of the activity.
Apart from presentations by selected foreign missions, Chinese industrial park designer Holley and agricultural industrial zone developer Zhejiang Gong River Agriculture Development Co., Ltd., provided briefings on their overseas activities.

The following day saw delegates toured around the Hangzhou City Brain Operation Command Center and the Hangzhou High-Tech Zone (Binjiang). The facilities showcased Hangzhou’s digital and data-driven approach to becoming a sustainable-development smart city, and as a hub for high-tech industries.

Consul Demdem and Commercial Vice Consul Mario Tani with fellow members of the Shanghai-based consular corps at the Hangzhou City Brain Operation Command Center.

At the Hangzhou City Brain, Consul Demdem and Vice Consul Tani engaged facility developer Dr. Wang Jian, Chief Technology Officer of Alibaba Group, and shared the progress of the ongoing development of smart cities across the Philippines and the potential for the sharing of “city brain” experiences and best practices.
Specializing in light industries and, more recently, high-tech industries, Hangzhou is one of China’s economically progressive centers and a major player in Chinese trade. The city’s foreign trade reached RMB 593 billion in 2020. Last year, the city unveiled the Hangzhou portion of the Zhejiang Pilot Free Trade Zone. Hangzhou is now at the forefront of the development of the Chinese digital economy. END