Overseas Chinese from around the world contribute wisdom in Huadu. To empower the construction of the major platform of Guangzhou International Commercial Port, and to fully activate overseas Chinese resources, and unite the hearts and strengths of overseas Chinese from home and abroad, Huadu District Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, together with Huashan Town, held on October 10 a special investment promotion and field visit event for overseas Chinese leaders and merchants; more than 30 representatives of overseas Chinese leaders and merchants from Panama, Canada, the United States, Czech Republic, Singapore, Malaysia, and other countries were invited to return home for visit and business matching.

　　This event closely aligned itself with Guangzhou's strategic layout for construction of major platforms, with focus on key tracks such as cross-border commerce, international supply chains, and technological innovation and cultural tourism. Relying on the unique advantages of the Overseas Chinese Federation in connecting China and foreign countries with extensive connections, the event precisely invited resource-matched overseas Chinese leaders and merchants to return home for negotiations, trying to promote deep connection between overseas Chinese resources and the investment promotion needs of Guangzhou International Commercial Port, and lay a solid foundation for deepening economic and trade cooperation and attracting overseas Chinese capital to settle and start businesses.

　　Fixate on the overall development

　　Seize the initiative in opening up in commerce section

　　The Overseas Chinese leaders and merchants visited the Investment Promotion Center of the Guangzhou International Commercial Port to gain firsthand insights into the development positioning, location conditions, and overall planning of this major platform of the city. As a brand-new commercial gateway of Guangzhou, a millennium-old commercial capital, Guangzhou International Commercial Port leverages the Huadu's advantages as an air-rail intermodal hub, to focus on pursuing an integrated development pattern of "big transportation, big commerce, big logistics, big intelligent manufacturing, big conventions and exhibitions, and big cultural tourism"; it will become Huadu's core growth pole that will serve to gather high-quality industries, enhance urban capacity, and connect domestic and international economic circulation.

　　At the site, overseas Chinese merchant representatives listened attentively to introduction on platform planning, industrial layout, key business formats, and investment promotion directions, and drawing on their own practical experience in global trade and cross-border supply chains, engaged in in-depth exchanges on topics such as integration of domestic and foreign trade, expansion of international market channels, and innovation in cross-border business formats. For a long time, overseas Chinese merchants have rooted themselves in multinational markets, which give them mature overseas marketing networks and economic and trade resources. Their unbroken attention to the development of their hometowns, and high approval of the strategic positioning and prospects of Guangzhou International Commercial Port, further strengthen their confidence in investing and starting businesses in Huadu.

　　Strengthen the technological innovation carriers

　　Unleash strong momentum for overseas Chinese entrepreneurship

　　When technological innovation flourishes, industries thrive. The delegation also visited two key overseas Chinese investment projects in the area—the International Overseas Chinese Business and Cultural Exchange Center (Phase I) Hanqiao Siming Plaza, and Guangzhou Qiaojun Technology and Innovation Industrial Park. The International Overseas Chinese Business and Cultural Exchange Center (Phase I) Hanqiao Siming Plaza, which has had its main structure successfully topped out, taps into the characteristics of overseas Chinese culture to focus on building a platform for overseas Chinese business and cultural exchange; and the Qiaojun Technology and Innovation Industrial Park, led by the president of the Overseas Chinese Youth Federation, is a pioneering practice for young overseas Chinese to take root in Huadu and seize the development opportunities of the commercial port. The overseas Chinese leaders and merchants walked, watched, and talked in depth ideas on project construction, park operations, and industrial investment promotion, exploring levers for cooperation in cross-border commerce and commercialization of technological innovation achievements.

　　Continue the century-old legacy of the overseas Chinese

　　Polish the brand of integrated culture and tourism

　　The final stop of the delegation was the Phase II project of Flower Town, where they immersed themselves in the century-old heritage of overseas Chinese and the new look arising from integration of culture and tourism in Huadu. As an important cultural facility of Guangzhou International Commercial Port, Flower Town carries the deep heritage of overseas Chinese in Huadu, and serve as an important vehicle for revitalizing resources of overseas Chinese hometowns, showcasing their charm, and empowering regional development.

　　In recent years, the Huadu District Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese has continuously tapped into local overseas Chinese resources, and promoted the second phase of Flower Town to upgrade and improve quality, renew business formats, and build brands. It insists on enriching culture through overseas Chinese, invigorating tourism through culture, and promoting commerce through tourism, trying to bring the accumulated overseas Chinese history and cultural heritage to life and make the distinctive overseas Chinese hometown business model "thrive." Relying on resources of overseas Chinese in Panama to connect with their local coffee industry chain, a Panama coffee exhibition and negotiation platform has been built in the Flower Town to cultivating distinctive overseas Chinese coffee formats, and explore new paths for empowering cross-border overseas Chinese trade through cultural and tourism integration. The District is deeply cultivating overseas Chinese culture, strengthening overseas Chinese cultural tourism, supplement the gaps of Guangzhou International Commercial Port in cultural and commercial tourism facilities, and trying to leverage the soft power of overseas Chinese hometowns to enhance the platform's overall capabilities, and realize symbiotic prosperity between hard commercial industries and soft overseas Chinese culture.

　　Gather the hearts of overseas Chinese from all corners of the world

　　Write a new chapter of win-win cooperation together

　　During the exchange, relevant leaders of the District fully affirmed the sincere feelings and sense of responsibility of overseas Chinese leaders who cared deeply about and gave back to their hometowns. She pointed out that Guangzhou International Commercial Port aimed high, and had enormous potential and broad prospects, and that it served as a core platform for Huadu to promote high-level opening-up and high-quality development. She expressed the hope that overseas Chinese leaders would continue to harness their unique advantages in connecting China and the world, would seize the development opportunities of the Greater Bay Area, would act as “presenters" of Huadu in external publicity, would tell Huadu's story to overseas audiences, introduce the business environment, and convey platform opportunities, would be "partners" in the development of their hometowns, and would closely align with regional industrial layouts, actively participate in platform construction, and attract more overseas Chinese capital, wisdom, and strength to gather in Huadu for mutual empowerment and win-win outcomes.

　　"This is my first contact with Guangzhou International Commercial Port. Today's on-site visit has made us very excited about the platform's strategic positioning, industrial layout, and future prospects. The project is close to the airport, it is large in scale, and Guangdong is a window to the world; all these made me believe that it will be very successful," said Jiang Xiongtong, President of the Panama Overseas Chinese Youth Federation in Huadu Guangzhou with deep emotion after the tour of the Guangzhou International Commercial Port project, "I grew up in Huashan and have been in Panama for nearly 40 years. It's rare to find such a great business opportunity. If the policies are convenient, I would call on overseas Chinese merchants in Panama and even the whole Central and South America region to return, visit, and invest here. ”

　　In recent years, the Huadu District Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese has continuously built exchanges and cooperation platforms for overseas Chinese merchants, and by actively facilitating connections to attract overseas Chinese capital, pool overseas Chinese wisdom, and boost overseas Chinese business, managed to promote the introduction of a number of overseas Chinese investment projects in technological innovation, commerce, and cultural tourism, injecting momentum from overseas Chinese into the regional economy. Next, the Huadu District Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese will continue to uphold its original mission of serving overseas Chinese with focus on solid services, and with the eyes fixed on the central task of building Guangzhou International Commercial Port, the Federation will continue to revitalize overseas Chinese resources, enhance emotion connection with overseas Chinese from all corners of the world, and gather global overseas Chinese strength; will promote the deep integration of overseas Chinese affairs with regional strategy, industrial upgrading, and opening-up, through more refined services, broader platforms, and more pragmatic measures; and will unite overseas Chinese hearts, stimulate overseas Chinese wisdom, and pool overseas Chinese strength to continuously contribute the overseas Chinese community's strength to Huadu's course of building new highland for opening up in the Greater Bay Area and helping Guangzhou's development into an international consumption center city.