Details

On the morning of March 28th, 2024, a seminar on ‘Build-Share-Win-Win - New Opportunities for Global Cooperation between Chinese and American Enterprises’ was successfully held at the China Finance Building in Shanghai, which was hosted by Lemen Group in cooperation with the American Alumni Association of Tongji University and other organisations.

The event was held online and offline, which attracted many entrepreneurs and scholars from China and the United States to discuss new opportunities for cross-border cooperation. This important annual dialogue held in the Yangtze River Delta marks the transition of the Overseas Service Platform from a concept to a substantive landing, and promotes China-US economic and trade cooperation to overcome cultural differences and policy barriers, and explore new directions for global cooperation.

Focus on China-US Cooperation

Build Global Service Platform

The US-China economic and trade relationship has always been a top priority for the global economy. However, along with the restructuring of the global supply chain and changes in the international competitive landscape, the challenges faced by Chinese enterprises in the process of internationalisation have become increasingly complex.

This seminar aims to provide Chinese enterprises with one-stop services such as cross-border incubation, resource docking, risk avoidance, etc. by building a professional overseas service platform to help them achieve sustainable development in the economic interaction between China and the United States.

Under the guidance of Tongji University Alumni Association, this seminar is organised by Tongji University American Alumni Association and alumni associations in New York, Northern California and other regions, Tongji University Alumni Association Investment and Financing Branch, CEIBS Globalisation Association, Tongji Alumni Entrepreneurs Association, Lemen International, co-organised by Peking University Guanghua School of Management Shanghai Alumni Association and Shanghai Yangpu District Science and Technology Innovation Promotion International Communication Committee, and co-sponsored by Lemen International Shanghai Headquarter and Lemen Business Culture Development Co. Los Angeles branch. We would like to thank all the organisers for their support and dedication!

With a closed-door invitation system, the conference is limited to 20 people offline and 50 people online, making it a high-quality dialogue in the field of cross-border cooperation between the US and China.

Conference Highlights

From health talks to in-depth discussions on cross-border co-operation

Warm-up Session: Health Issues and Technology Demonstration in Parallel

On the day of the conference, the warm-up session was unique. Networking and tea break were set up. What’s more, we’ve invited Shanghai leading talents, core team members of Professor Fan Huimin’s group. Prof. Fan is director of the Department of Cardiology Tongji University Affiliated Dongfang Hospital. Shenghe Rehabilitation Centre, Deputy Director of Mr. Chen Zhihong was also invited to hold a cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health lecture themed ‘from passive treatment to active health’. 

Afterwards, some of the guests even experienced the cardiovascular screening service.

Main Forum: Focus on Global Supply Chain and Collaborative Innovation

The meeting was officially opened at 9:30 am. Representatives of the organisers delivered speeches in turn, including Mrs. Pan Xiaojing, Deputy Secretary General of Tongji University Alumni Association, Mrs. Cheng Guoping, Assistant Dean/Director of Professional Degree Centre, School of Economics and Management, Tongji University, and Secretary General of Economics and Management Branch of Tongji University Alumni Association.

Mr. Zhang Zhiling, Secretary General of Tongji University American Alumni Association, Mr. Liu Chunsong, President of Tongji University Alumni Association Investment and Financing Branch, and Mr. Zhang Ping, President of Tongji University Alumni Entrepreneurs Association

They unanimously said that co-operation between US and Chinese enterprises is not only necessary for business development, but also an important engine for global economic recovery.

Afterwards, Professor Wu Sizong, a renowned economist and doctoral supervisor, delivered a keynote speech - ‘Sino-US Collaborative Innovation under the Reconfiguration of Global Supply Chain’.

Starting from the current situation of the global supply chain, Prof. Wu deeply analysed the opportunities for collaborative innovation between China and the US in terms of technology, industry chain and market.

Theme Forum: Exploring the Digital Economy and Enterprises Going Overseas

In the theme forum session from 10:00 to 11:10, the guests had an in-depth discussion on the two themes: cross-border co-operation in the digital economy and enterprises going overseas.

01 Theme Forum I: Cross-border Co-operation in Digital Economy

Industry elites and scholars from China and the United States discussed the practice of cross-border cooperation in the era of digital economy. Professor Xia Shanchen, President of the US-China Institute for Advanced Studies in International Business, shared the practical experience of data compliance and cross-border flow between China and the US online in New York.

Mr. David, Board member of Directors of the Harvard Business School Alumni Angel Fund, analysed the differences in business etiquette and negotiation styles between the United States and China with real-life examples.

Mr. Lu Jun, Chairman of the Digital Economy Innovation Cluster of the China Development and Reform Commission's Association for the Promotion of Industrial Development, focused on the joint research, development and application of artificial intelligence and blockchain.

Tongji alumnus Mr. Guo Yiliang, CTO of Ehoo Technology, shared the application of intelligent tools in international trade.

02 Theme Forum II: Practical Seminar for Enterprises Going Abroad

The legal, cultural and operational problems faced by enterprises going abroad are comprehensively analysed in this session.

Dr. Zhang Zhen, Deputy General Manager of Tongji Science and Technology Industrial Park, proposed a new paradigm of linkage between universities, industries, universities and research institutes, and discussed the new opportunities of cross-border incubation; Mr. Wang Yiqi, Partner of Ruiming & Wentzel, analysed the intellectual property rights of cross-border e-commerce between China and the United States from the legal point of view.

Fu Tao, Chairman of UD Capital, shared the lessons learnt by SMEs in marketing localization and overseas team establishment based on practical cases.

Session: Build a Sharing Platform with Group Efforts

In the following seminar, Mr. Liu Zhi, Executive Vice President of Tongji Alumni Entrepreneurs Association, Vice President of Tongji University Alumni Investment and Financing Branch, and Co-Founder of Lemen International, and Mr. Zhang Zhiling, Secretary General of Tongji University American Alumni Association, jointly released the ‘China-US Cross-border Innovative Entrepreneurs Alliance’ co-operation initiative.

The era of digital economy and artificial intelligence provides a vast space for Sino-US enterprises to cooperate, especially in the areas of data compliance and joint research and development of artificial intelligence. However, SMEs going overseas still face challenges such as legal compliance and marketing localization.

In this regard, Mr. Liu Zhi initiated the establishment of the ‘China-US Cross-border Innovation Entrepreneurs Alliance’ to create an open and inclusive cooperation platform to help enterprises solve practical problems and promote cooperation between the two sides to new heights.

The goals of the alliance are clear: firstly, to build a bridge for information exchange and break the information silo; secondly, to provide professional consulting services to help enterprises solve practical problems; thirdly, to establish a cross-border incubator to support the growth of innovative and entrepreneurial projects; and fourthly, to strengthen cross-border communication and resource sharing between alumni entrepreneurs of Chinese and American universities in the pan-Tongji system.

He proposed the structure and future development direction of the alliance, and pointed out the challenges of data compliance, cultural differences and business models. In the future, the alliance will uphold the concept of ‘co-construction, sharing and win-win’, become an important link connecting the Chinese and American enterprises of the Pan-Tongji Department, and promote both sides to achieve greater development in the process of globalisation.

Mr. Liu Zhi and Mr. Zhang Zhiling said that the future overseas service platform will gather the functions of information sharing, resource docking and cross-border incubation to provide more efficient service support for Chinese and American enterprises.

Acknowledgements and Outlook

From Cooperation to Win-Win Situation

At the end of the conference, Mrs. Peng Ling, Vice President of CEIBS Women's Leadership Alliance and Founder and Chairwoman of Lemen International, gave a speech of appreciation.

She expressed her gratitude to the participants for their wonderful sharing and in-depth discussions, and looked forward to the future cooperation between Chinese and American enterprises in more fields.

When the midday sunshine filled the banks of the Huangpu River, the participants were still warmly negotiating at the luncheon. At this moment, the morning coffee at the New York venue is wafting a mellow aroma, and the dialogue across time and space is still fermenting. In this exploration of a new paradigm of globalization, what we have written is not a simple memorandum of understanding, but the source code of a new era of business civilization.

The success of this seminar has built a solid bridge for the cooperation between Chinese and American enterprises, and also provided valuable experience to support the landing of the overseas service platform. In the future, the platform will further integrate alumni resources of Chinese and American universities, enterprise resources and policy resources to create a comprehensive platform integrating cross-border incubation, digital support and legal compliance services.

Through this seminar, the communication and cooperation between Chinese and American enterprises has been further deepened, providing strong support for Chinese enterprises to demonstrate their strength in the international arena. It is believed that in the near future, this platform will become a model for Chinese and American enterprises to work together for win-win situation and inject more vitality into the global economic development.