The 8th China Inbound-Outbound Forum showcasing Beijing's construction of "two zones" and corporate globalization was held Saturday at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, China. 

The event was co-organized by the Center for China and Globalization (CCG) and Beijing Two Zones Office, as part of the China International Fair for Trade in Services, which took place Sept. 2 to 7. 

Roundtable discussions and dialogues were held on topics ranging from new trends in global service trade, Beijing's ongoing construction of "two zones," potential green development, corporate sustainable development, and applications and prospects for digital technologies in fields such as health care and entertainment. 

The forum brought together officials from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Commerce and the Two Zones Office, diplomatic envoys and senior officials in China, policy experts from relevant ministries, representatives from top multinational companies such as Qualcomm, Daimler, LinkedIn, Michelin, Knorr-Bremse, Dow Chemical, Dell, Sanofi, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures and Tencent, as well as outstanding domestic service trade companies. 

In his keynote address, Yang Jinbai, vice mayor of Beijing's Municipal Government, noted that since establishing Beijing as the nation's leading pilot city for free trade and service industries, China's capital has been committed to creating an open business environment and stimulating the vitality of market players. 

He said that China has reached a new era in opening its economy to the world and that Beijing will seize the opportunity to take the lead in building a robust economic system while actively promoting opening up in a comprehensive and extensive way. 

CCG President Wang Huiyao said that against the backdrop of the pandemic, the trade fair demonstrates the vital importance that China places on promoting the development of the service trade and provides valuable opportunities for both Chinese and foreign companies, boosting confidence in the global economic recovery. 

Chen Jian, former vice minister of commerce and CCG consultant, called for Chinese companies, especially those with relative advantages in fields such as finance, insurance, transportation, digital services and e-commerce to maximize international cooperation through foreign investment and mergers and acquisitions to compete and cooperate globally. 

In addition, he also stressed the importance of accelerating the development of the Digital Silk Road to increase the proportion of digital services, laying a solid foundation for the development and cooperation of the modern service industry. 

Yi Xiaozhun, former deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), noted that with widespread applications of digital technology, the development of global trade in services has significantly increased, and the growth rate has exceeded that of goods traded. 

According to WTO statistics, from 2012 to 2019, the share of global cross-border service trade exports increased from 19.5% to 24.5%, and the services share of world trade is expected to reach 30% in 2040. 

These figures reflect two major trends in modern global trade: the servitization of trade in goods and the digitization of trade in services, Yi said.

Benefiting from an improved business environment, China has been favored by multinational investment companies, and has maintained its position as the world's second-largest recipient of foreign direct investment, Yi said, noting that recently, the service industry has served as a popular market for foreign investment. 

The China Inbound-Outbound Forum was founded in 2014 and has been held for seven consecutive years. It is committed to creating a new type of international economic forum based on China's position in the world and an ethos of "going global." Since its establishment, the forum has become an influential platform for "going out" and attracting foreign investment for Chinese and foreign companies.

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