Opening Ceremony of Seminar on Policy-based Finance and Sustainable Development of MSMEs for Belt and Road Countries
On the morning of July 21, the "Belt and Road" Initiative Fiscal Finance and SME Sustainable Development Seminar, hosted by the Ministry of Commerce and organized by the Shanghai National Accounting Institute (SNAI), officially commenced at the academy. Forty-two government officials, experts, and corporate representatives from 11 countries—including Armenia, Cambodia, Cuba, South Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Nigeria, Lesotho, Uganda, Gambia, and Togo—gathered to explore innovative approaches for fiscal and financial support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Lu Wenbin, Deputy Party Secretary and President of SNAI, and Zhang Gexing, Party Committee Member and Vice President, attended the opening ceremony.
Lu Wenbin extended a warm welcome to the 42 participants from Asia, Africa, and Latin America, providing a brief introduction to the history, mission, and development of SNAI and the Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Institute (AFDI). He emphasized that the seminar aims to foster experience-sharing and exchanges among "Belt and Road" countries in the field of fiscal and financial support for SME development, enhance mutual understanding and friendship, and jointly contribute to SME growth and the high-quality advancement of the "Belt and Road" Initiative.
As a representative of the participants, Ms. Mariam Manukyan, Chairwoman of the International Business Relations Council (IBRS Council) of Armenia, delivered a speech. She expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and SNAI for organizing the seminar, noting that its theme is both highly timely and practical. She highlighted that the seminar provides a valuable platform for countries to learn from China's experiences and promote the development of their own SMEs and economic growth.
This seminar marks the beginning of SNAI’s collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce on short-term foreign aid human resource development projects, holding significant importance. Experts from SNAI, Shanghai Business School, Pudong Cadre Management College, China Financing Guarantee Association, and the Shanghai SME Policy Financing Guarantee Fund Management Center will deliver lectures on topics such as China’s national overview, high-quality development of the "Belt and Road" Initiative and China’s high-level opening-up, China’s fiscal system reform, SME sustainable development cultivation systems, and inclusive finance with policy-based financing guarantees. The seminar will also include field visits and inspections for participants at the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Yangtze River Delta G60 Science and Technology Innovation Corridor, Suzhou Industrial Park, and related enterprises, deepening their understanding of the seminar’s themes and providing a comprehensive perspective on China.
