The University Of Kitakyushu
Center for Chinese Business Studies

New Year Special Seminar 2021

Theme：Economic Partnership in East Asia and Sustainable Corporate Development in the Post-COVID-19 World

Date：March 8, 2021

Holding method: Online (Teams webinar, Express in Chinese)

　On the afternoon of March 8th, the New Year Special Seminar 2021 was successfully held in the form of a web conferencing with Microsoft Teams application. This year’s seminar marked the 5^th of the international seminar series organized by the CCBS of the University of Kitakyushu. With the COVID-19 pandemic still widespread, it was the first expert meeting held online. There were 39 participants in total, including panelists and moderators from Japanese and overseas organizations, as well as online attendees from respective organizations.

　At the conference, prominent scholars, and experts from universities, think tanks, and companies which have had friendly exchange relationship with the CCBS for years were invited. Given a new cooperation mechanism for East Asian regional economic integration created by the conclusion of the RCEP, we examined its impact on economic development in the region. We also shared our challenges and successful experiences in coping with the COVID-19 pandemic and prospected the post-corona industrial development trend, while managing to make meaningful policy recommendations for collaboration among regional industries and businesses.

　Starting with welcome remarks by Masato NINOMIYA, Vice President of the University of Kitakyushu on behalf of the organizers, the seminar was divided into three sessions for research presentations and discussions under the chairperson of CCBS researcher Lijun PENG. The first session was held under the theme of “New Cooperation Mechanism Created by East Asian Regional Economic Integration.” With Mr. Tomoyuki FUKUMOTO, Director-General, International Department of the Bank of Japan as moderator, Professor Taiyan HUANG, Director of the Research Center of China’s Private Enterprises, Renmin University of China, Professor LIU Hong, Dean of the Nanyang Center for Public Administration, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and Dr. Yuan De, Vice Dean of International College, Rajamangala University of Technology, Thailand, gave presentations respectively.

　The second session, with the theme of the “Impact and Challenges of COVID-19,” was moderated by Mr. Ryota TANIMURA, Head of Emerging Country Group, Engine Division, Kubota Co., Ltd., top manufacturer specializing in agricultural machinery. We had three presentations from Mr. GAO Qinghai, CEO of Beijing Zhongminjian Investment Management Co., Ltd., Dr. Chihyan Tai, Associate Research Fellow of International Economic Research Institute, Chung-Hua Institute of Economic Research (Taipei), and Mr. Masami MASUDA, Representative Executive Director, Apec Trading Co. Ltd.

　The third session was moderated by Professor WANG Xiaoping, Director of the CCBS, under the theme of “Sustainable Development Mechanisms of East Asian Companies-Sharing Results and Experiences”. We had three presentations from Professor ZHU Hang, Sun Yat-Sen Business School, Sun Yat-Sen University (Guangzhou), Mr. WANG Ping, Vice President, Hong Kong China Review News Service, and Dr. Shigemi FURUTA, former Director, Japan, Hong Kong Trade and Development Council.

　During the session discussions and the final discussion, the moderators and experts had a heated debate on the free trade system in the East Asian region, trends and roles of foreign direct investment, international cooperation in the medical and welfare field, and comparative management of longevity companies. Lastly, Director WANG Xiaoping of the CCBS, speaking as an organizer, summed up the seminar by explaining the significance of holding this international seminar in order to promote cooperation between regional industries with academic institutions as intermediators, and calling for support for continuous industry-academia collaboration in the future.

2021.3.8 New Year Special Seminar 2021