The Belt and Road Global Chambers and Associations Presidents Conference, and the Scientific and Technological Innovation and International Cooperation Forum began on Dec 6 in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province.

Under the theme "New Era, New Platform", this year's event focused on opportunities provided by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and aimed to promote trade, science and technology, and personnel sharing among business associations.

Some 300 chamber and association heads, and political and commercial celebrities from all over the world gathered at the inaugural event, hoping to find cooperative business opportunities under the framework of the BRI.

An online sharing platform for business associations – Shangqibang (37bang.cn) – was launched at the conference to help Wenzhou's enterprises become more internationally competitive

According to Tang Bo, the executive director of the event's organizing committee, there are approximately 80,000 chambers and associations involving 30 million companies in China.

The internet-based management system will improve communication and cooperation efficiency among global business associations.

At the conference, the platform also saw the signing of contracts with General Association of Dazhou Merchants and the chambers of commerce of Inner Mongolia and Chongqing in Zhejiang province.

The conference also attracted business people from Greece, Cyprus, Italy, France, Poland, Malta, Russia, Romania, Belgium, Germany and Vietnam seeking various business opportunities, new relationships and cooperative development.

The annual conference was founded to improve communication, integration and coordinated development, and standardized, industrialized and international operation of chambers and business associations.