The 2008 edition of the Global China Business Meeting was held in Barcelona on 17-19 November. The Global China Business Meeting is the foremost annual gathering of Chinese business leaders and their global counterparts. The event is open to Chief Executive Officers of the world’s leading companies.
More then 400 participants took part in the meeting. As the financial crisis intensified, participants examined the state of the global economy and China’s role in warding off a global recession. With the melting down of the global financial system participants conceptualized the characteristics of the Chinese economic model and its merits to ensure long-term growth. Download the report, read related coverage in the international media and visit the photo gallery.
IHT: Emerging nations seen as economic lifesavers
The 2008 Global China Business Meeting provided a special focus on China’s interaction with other emerging economies, including Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and India. A review of the Beijing Olympics was another theme. Senior executives from around the world discussed Chinese firms’ growing impact on global business and conceptualized the globalization of Chinese firms.
Outstanding speakers included H.R.H. The Prince of Asturias, Spain; Miguel Angel Moratinos, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Spain; George Yeoh, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Singapore; Xu Kuangdi, Vice Chairman, 10th CPPCC National Committee and Gao Hucheng, Vice Minister of Commerce, China.
The co-chairs were:
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César Alierta, Chairman, Telefonica, Spain |
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Léo Apotheker, Co-Chief Executive Officer, SAP, Germany |
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Claude Begle, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Swiss Post, Switzerland |
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Chang Dae-whan, Chairman, Maeil, Republic of Korea |
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Chen Feng, Chairman, Hainan Airlines, China |
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Fu Chengyu, Chief Executive Officer, CNOOC, China |
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Jim Goodnight, Chief Executive Officer, SAS, USA |
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Li Dongsheng, Chairman, TCL, China |
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Li Ruogu, Chairman, China Exim Bank, China |
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Liu Changle, Chairman, Phoenix TV, China |
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Natalya Kaspersky, Chairman, Kaspersky Lab Group of Companies, Russia |
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Munir Majid, Chairman, Malaysia Airlines, Malaysia |
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Naushad Merali, Chairman, Sameer Group, Kenya |
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Eduardo Montes, Chairman, FerroAtlantica, Spain |
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Juan Maria Nin, Chief Executive Officer, La Caixa, Spain |
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Josep Piqué, Chairman, Vueling, Spain |
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Anthony Salim, President, Salim Group, Indonesia |
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S. Sandilya, Chairman, Eicher Group, India |
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Shao Bo, Chairman, Novamed Pharmaceuticals, China |
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Yan Bingzhu, Chairman, Bank of Beijing, China |
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Zhang Yue, Chairman, Broad Air Conditioning, China |
The meeting was organized by Horasis and co-hosted by the China Federation of Industrial Economics and Casa Asia – an institution under the Spanish government – with Ajuntament de Barcelona, COPCA and ICEX. Horasis is using its unrivalled history of partnership with Chinese and global firms to create a powerful platform for cooperation between China and the rest of the world.
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| Fu Chengyu, Chairman and CEO of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), right, and Frank-Jürgen Richter, President of Horaris Switzerland, centre, attend a Opening Plenary during Global China Business Meeting in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008. The head of China’s biggest offshore energy producer CNOOC chairman Fu Chengyu, said Tuesday he thinks oil prices are likely to return to the $70-$80 barrel range, though he did not give a timetable and said low prices could continue for some time, during comments made at the conference on Chinese business in this northeastern Spanish city. |
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| Xu Kuangdi, Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative attends a Opening Plenary during Global China Business Meeting in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008. |
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| Spanish Crown Prince Felipe, right, and Xu Kuangdi, Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative, left, walk before a plenary session during Global China Business Meeting in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008. |
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| Spanish Crown Prince Felipe, right, and Xu Kuangdi, Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative, left, attends a a plenary session during Global China Business Meeting in Barcelona, Spain, Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008. |
We need a strong China. China is the world’s new growth engine.
Levin Zhu, CEO, China International Capital Corporation, China
The huge demand for Chinese IPOs indicates a continued fascination with investors viewing the shares of mainland firms as a proxy for Chinese growth.
David K.P. Li, Chairman, Bank of East Asia, Hong Kong SAR
A sustainable world needs a sustainable China
Cherie Liem, Managing Director, GT Enterprises, China
To gain competitive advantage from globalization, the whole must be worth more, in terms of efficiency and/or capacity to create value for customers, than the sum of its parts.
Myles Lu, CEO, Roxbeam, China
The partnership between China and the European Union is strong and growing.
Vladimir Spidla, Commissioner for Social Affairs, European Commission,Belgium
There is no doubt that the global economy has benefited enormously from the emergence of China and that this new giant has brought new opportunities as well as challenges to Europe.
Jean-Claude Trichet, President, European Central Bank, Germany
Chinese companies are not coming for the raw materials only. They are less driven by political orders than by economic opportunities.
Firmino G Mucavele, CEO, NEPAD, South Africa
What is needed is dialogue. It is important to work with China to help it tackle the various challenges.
David Bell, Chairman, Pearson, United Kingdom