China and Europe have a huge potential for cooperation in trade in services, agree enterprises and governments from Shanghai and Belgium during a breakfast meeting on promoting trade in services between the city and state.

The meeting was held on November 21, on the sidelines of Princess Astrid of Belgium’s visit to Shanghai, and was attended by around 100 representatives from the Belgian economic mission to China.

(The breakfast meeting was held on November 21.)

(Jan Jambon, Minister-President of the Government of Flanders, delivers a speech at the breakfast meeting.)

With the deepening of economic globalization and de-industrialisation in many countries, the status of trade in services in the world economy keeps on improving, thus becoming an important part of international trade. In Shanghai, last year, the total import and export volume of trade in services reached USD197.5 billion, accounting for 26% of China’s total, and ranking first in the country. A report from the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce also shows that the development of traditional sectors of trade in services is solid and of a large scale, while the development of emerging sectors enjoys a great business environment and fast speed.

What’s more, according to the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, Shanghai has also been exploring the establishment of a global network for the promotion of trade in services. As a pioneer, it initiated the formation of the Shanghai Global Promotion Alliance for Service Trade, whose network has expanded to Brazil, Japan and other countries. This June, by working with the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC), Shanghai also set up the Shanghai Overseas Promotion Center for Service Trade in Brussels.

Another report speculates that by 2030, China and other Asian countries will account for half of global consumption, led by China and Asian emerging economies. However, as Tang Yunyi, researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Science, pointed out, there is still a lot of room for China to connect with the world, especially in terms of trade in services. Now, China’s trade in services only accounts for 6% of the world total, which can be improved through cooperation between China and Europe. Especially in the service industry, the two sides have strong complementarities and harbor great potential for cooperation.

A model of long-term friendly cooperation between China and Europe, Belgium is a bridgehead for Sino-European cooperation. Since the establishment of their diplomatic relations in 1971, China and Belgium’s economic and trade cooperation has been on a fast track, bringing about more opportunities for future bilateral trade and investment.

(A group photo of some VIP attendees)

The breakfast meeting was co-organized by the Commission of Commerce of the Huangpu District Government, Eastday, the Shanghai Association of International Service Trade, the Shanghai Overseas Promotion Center for Service Trade (Brussels) and the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC). Enterprises from both Shanghai and Belgium also joined a fruitful networking session to conclude the event.