On March 27, Mr. John Wu, Vice President and Director General of the Financial Center for South-South Cooperation (FCSSC), spoke at the Belarus Investment Environment and China-Belarus Industrial Park Seminar co-hosted by the Center for International Knowledge on Development (CIKD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). More than 100 representatives from the governments of China and Belarus, international organizations, domestic and foreign companies and research institutes, including Mr. Zhang Junkuo, Vice President of the Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC), Mr. Alain Pilloux, Vice President of EBRD, and Mr. Kirill Rudy, Ambassador of Belarus to China. They discussed the investment environment in Belarus and investment opportunities in China-Belarus Industrial Park.
Mr. Wu delivered a keynote speech on what investment environment the Chinese companies need. He analyzed Chinese companies’ considerations when they invest overseas, regarding the macro environment, market demand, policy, and infrastructure, and presented FCSSC’s services for developing countries such as policy design, industry positioning and investment promotion, taking as an example FCSSC’s helping the government of Djibouti plan and design the industrial park. He added that his speech might give inspiration to policy makers and participating companies of China-Belarus Industrial Park.
At the seminar, Mr. Zhang pointed out that China-Belarus Industrial Park was a key part of the cooperation between these two countries, symbolized coordination of their development goals and would become an example for collaboration along the Silk Road Economic Belt.
According to Mr. Kirill Rudy, the Belt and Road Initiative is based on trust and only the countries that trust and understand China and share values and philosophies with China can be in close cooperation under this initiative; among those countries, Belarus will achieve well in investment promotion.
About FCSSC
FCSSC, as a non-profit international organization incorporated in Hong Kong in April 2014, is a comprehensive platform that provides experience, expertise and technology exchanges, capacity cooperation and financial services for South-South cooperation under the framework of the UN agenda for sustainable development, with an aim to promote cooperation among governments and enterprises of developing countries, including international development organizations and assistance agencies, provide integral solutions to and facilitate the implementation of South-South cooperation projects, by taking successful models as guidance, industrial projects as carriers and financial service as means. With such efforts, FCSSC is devoted to helping developing countries accelerate industrialization and realize sustainable development, and making contributions to achieving sustainable development goals of the United Nations.
About CIKD
CIKD was incorporated in Beijing in March 2017. In September 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, “China will establish an international development knowledge center to facilitate studies and exchanges regarding theories and practices of development suited to each country’s respective national conditions.” In March 2017, the government of China approved the establishment of the Center for International Knowledge on Development by the Development Research Center of the State Council. The center is mainly responsible for coordinating domestic and foreign development research resources to study development theories and practices and organizing exchanges among countries on research results of international development issues including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Officially put into service in August 2017, the center is aimed to become a significant platform for studies and exchanges regarding China’s development experience and wisdom. It also serves as a key means for all countries to share development experience and seek for sustainable development despite global development challenges.
About EBRD
Established in London in 1991, EBRD is aimed to provide economic support for Central and Eastern European countries and CIS countries after the dissolution of the Soviet Union to help them transform from a centrally planned economy to a market economy, in particular, a market economy dominated by private companies. Its largest shareholder in America (10%), followed by Germany, France, English, Italy and Japan (respectively 8.5%), and Eastern European countries hold 11.9% of the shares in total.
