Initiated by Eastday and the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC), the Shanghai Overseas Promotion Center for Service Trade (SOPCST) was inaugurated in Brussels on June 14.

(From left: Zhou Zhaoming, Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Belgium; Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director of FCCC & Secretary General of the EU-China Business Association; Li Hong, Vice Chairwoman of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce; Gao Binxiang, Vice President of Eastday)

Based in Belgium with an eye to the EU market, the SOPCST is a service platform supported by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce. At the launch ceremony, Vice Chairwoman of the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, Li Hong, mentioned Shanghai’s efforts in establishing communication and interaction with Belgian and European service trade enterprises through government-enterprise cooperation.

The launch of the SOPCST signifies the significance of the EU’s service trade market to Shanghai. In the past, the export market of Shanghai’s service industry was mainly concentrated in countries and economic centers such as the United States, Hong Kong, Macau, and Japan. However, according to Gao Binxiang, Vice President of Eastday, the newly established SOPCST aims to facilitate the development of the overseas service market for Shanghai and the promotion of communication and cooperation between EU and Chinese enterprises, by supporting relevant projects through information exchange and cooperation with the respective governments and other institutions.

Additionally, the SOPCST will regularly publish business information reports from Belgium and the EU, which will be promoted in China.

In 2018, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce and Eastday signed a Memorandum of Cooperation on Promoting the Expansion of Overseas Markets for Service Trade, aiming to jointly build a platform for Shanghai’s overseas service trade development and brand promotion, and to expand overseas promotion channels supported by traditional media and Internet platforms. In this context, the SOPCST was opened in Brussels, as the first Shanghai overseas promotion center for trade in services.

The launch ceremony for SOPCST on June 14 was attended by representatives of companies and business organizations from both Shanghai and Belgium seeking to establish business relations with each other through the SOPCST.