The First Session of the Third Member Representative Assembly of the Fujian Provincial Association of Overseas Chinese Entrepreneurs Held in Fuzhou

On June 9, the first session of the third member representative assembly and the inauguration ceremony of the Fujian Overseas Chinese Business Association was held in Fuzhou. Wang Linggui, Chairman of the China Overseas Chinese Federation, and Zhao Zenglian, Vice Governor of Fujian Province, attended the ceremony and delivered speeches. Chen Shihai, Chairman of the Fujian Overseas Chinese Federation, presided over the inauguration ceremony of the new board members. More than 300 members of the overseas Chinese business community and guests gathered in Fuzhou to discuss new paths for empowering Fujian’s development.

Wang Linggui congratulated the successful holding of the assembly. He pointed out that since its establishment, the Fujian Overseas Chinese Business Association has achieved remarkable results in serving economic development, safeguarding the rights and interests of overseas Chinese businesses, and engaging in public welfare. It has become an important bridge connecting overseas Chinese businesses and organizations. He hopes that overseas Chinese business associations at all levels in Fujian will continue to act as a “bridge and link,” fully leveraging the advantages of the two platforms and two major resources of domestic and overseas connections, financial and intellectual support, to unite more overseas Chinese in contributing to their hometown’s development and telling the stories of China and Fujian. Focusing on major opportunities such as “building a demonstration zone for cross-strait integrated development” and “high-quality construction of the core area of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road,” he encouraged active participation in the high-quality co-construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and the “Overseas Chinese Assistance for Thousands of Enterprises and Products Going Global” initiative, showcasing new achievements in participating in higher-level openness.

Zhao Zenglian pointed out that Fujian is a famous hometown of overseas Chinese and a major province for overseas Chinese affairs. He hopes that the Fujian Overseas Chinese Business Association will deeply implement the concept of “big overseas Chinese affairs,” vigorously promote the spirit of overseas Chinese represented by the Jiageng spirit, and always keep the country and hometown in mind. He encouraged them to leverage their unique advantages of extensive connections and integration of Chinese and foreign resources, guiding overseas Chinese and businesses from Fujian to deeply integrate into the overall development of the province. He emphasized the importance of attracting overseas Chinese investment, guiding foreign investment, and promoting business engagement, effectively telling the story of China’s modernization and the winning story of Fujian, and becoming a comprehensive participant in promoting high-quality development, a liaison for high-level opening up, and a disseminator of excellent traditional Chinese culture, gathering more overseas Chinese resources and wisdom for the new journey of building a new Fujian.

During the meeting, the work report of the second board of directors, the financial work report, and the “Articles of Association (Revised Draft)” of the Fujian Provincial Overseas Chinese Business Association were reviewed and approved, and the third board of directors was elected, with Qiu Weiming, Shi Jinshan, He Youxian, Yang Jianming, Zhan Hanqin, Xue Bin, and Wu Duanlong elected as members of the new leadership team.

Qiu Weiming delivered an inaugural speech, stating that the new board of directors will take the leadership transition as a new starting point, focusing on development opportunities in Fujian, enhancing new quality productivity, and leveraging overseas Chinese to attract business and intelligence to assist in industrial upgrades; relying on the industrial and financial cloud platform to support the development of overseas Chinese enterprises, deepening public welfare, improving internal governance, and utilizing overseas Chinese resources to promote external openness and cross-strait integrated development.

During the meeting, the permanent headquarters of the provincial overseas Chinese business association and the overseas Chinese fund park, the Silk Road Overseas Chinese Digital Trade Industry Exchange Center, the Overseas Chinese Hotel Domestic and International Cooperation Alliance, and the Fujian Quality Products Cross-Border E-commerce Center were inaugurated; the “Overseas Chinese Business Easy Credit” financial service mechanism was established, and several strategic cooperations were reached, including a one-stop service platform for overseas Chinese medical care, the Maritime Silk Road ASEAN International Industry-Education Integration Community, the Overseas Chinese Hotel Domestic and International Cooperation Alliance, and the Fujian-Europe DMS two-way pre-clearance. Additionally, a trade promotion meeting titled “Empowering Fujian Overseas Chinese: Connecting the World” was held.

Source: Fujian Provincial Research Center for Overseas Chinese History and Culture, Fujian Provincial Overseas Chinese Business Association