Suzhou, Jiangsu Province – Consul General Josel F. Ignacio underlined the vast untapped potential of the Philippines’ economic interaction with Jiangsu province during his visit to Suzhou City on 28-29 July.

The Consul General was attending the ASEAN Plus Three Forum on Industrial Chain and Supply Chain and the Taihu East Asian Entrepreneurs Forum at the Suzhou-Taihu International Conference Centre, together with other Shanghai- and Beijing-based diplomats, government officials and business representatives.

The event was organized by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, the Jiangsu Provincial People’s Government, Suzhou Municipal People’s Government, and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) Jiangsu Sub-Council, among others.

On the eve of the Forum, CG Ignacio and diplomats from ASEAN, Japan and Korea paid a courtesy call on Jiangsu Vice Governor FEI Gaoyun.

At the welcome reception that followed, the Consul General held brief discussions with Vice Governor Fei, Suzhou Mayor Wu Qingwen and Jiangsu Foreign Affairs Office Deputy Director General Huang Xiqiang. Citing economic complementarities, he vowed to build stronger linkages between the Consulate General and its attached agencies on one hand, and Jiangsu trade and investment authorities, business chambers and organizations, and private enterprises.

The Forum proper on 29 July featured a succession of heavyweight speakers, led by Vice Premier Hu Chunhua, Jiangsu Governor Xu Kunlin, Assistant Minister of Commerce Li Fei, CCPIT Vice Chair Chen Jian’an, ASEAN Secretary General Lim Jock Hoi, WTO Deputy Director General Zhang Ziangchen, and ranking economic ministers and experts from ASEAN, Japan and the ROK.

The keynote speeches converged around the need for supply chain security and resilience amidst geopolitical tensions and pandemics, the role of digitization and “greening” in this effort, and the enabling environment provided by free trade agreements, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) deal. END