On November 4, the Foreign Labor Services Cooperation Industry Development Conference and the 2020 China Foreign Labor Services Cooperation Industry Development Forum, organized by the China International Contractors Association, were held in Beijing. The forum, poised to "actively adapt to the new normal of epidemic prevention and control, and steadily promote the recovery and development of foreign labor services cooperation," was attended by Liu Minqiang, Deputy Director of the Foreign Investment Administration of the Ministry of Commerce, and Fang Qiuchen, President of the China International Contractors Association. The forum invited about 40 representatives from the Foreign Investment Administration of the Ministry of Commerce, relevant provincial business authorities, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Japan International Trainee & Skilled Worker Cooperation Organization (JITCO), domestic universities, and key enterprises in the industry to participate, with over 3,000 people participating online across 9 provincial and municipal branch venues. Representatives from the International Office of Cooperation and Exchange of our university and the Institute of Belt and Road and Labor Relations, Associate Professors Qiao Jian and Ye Ying from the School of Labor Relations and Human Resources attended the forum.

In his opening speech, Deputy Director Liu Minqiang summarized the important measures taken by the Ministry of Commerce in poverty alleviation and foreign labor services cooperation in recent years, and pointed out that under the premise of ensuring epidemic prevention and control normalization, the Ministry of Commerce will continuously improve the foreign labor policy, service, supervision, and risk prevention system. At the same time, local business authorities are required to strengthen local management, and guide the good services of foreign labor cooperation service platforms; organizations of the industry should strengthen industry self-discipline, play a bridging role, and enhance service governance and capabilities; enterprises should adhere to compliant operations and enhance their own value. All parties will work together to promote the high-quality development of the industry.

President Fang Qiuchen pointed out in a speech that in the long run, the stable development trend of China's foreign labor services cooperation business will not change. Promoting sustainable and high-quality development of the industry requires government promotion, and industry assistance, and most importantly, enterprises must operate with integrity and compliance, safeguard rights and interests, adjust structures, and focus on governance. Only with firm confidence and by facing challenges can we overcome the adverse effects of the epidemic, achieve sustainable development, and gain a foothold in the domestic and international market competition.

At the forum, representatives from government departments, academia, and business communities made thematic speeches. In his speech titled "Current Labor Market Supply and Demand Situation in China and Labor Relations, Risks and Regulations in Belt and Road Countries," Associate Professor Qiao Jian provided an outlook on the supply and demand relationship in the labor market during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, proposing a new model of cross-cultural and harmonious labor relations that integrates "legal compliance," "cultural integration," and "talent support," which is a reliable guarantee for Chinese enterprises to go to the Belt and Road countries and promote the foundation of "people-to-people connectivity," thus receiving positive feedback and responses from the attendees.

The forum analyzed the main impacts of the epidemic on global labor mobility and China's foreign labor services cooperation from macro and micro perspectives, introduced the main measures taken by the industry in actively responding to the epidemic and stabilizing and supporting foreign labor services cooperation, studied the common problems faced by the foreign labor services cooperation industry at the current stage and the future development trends under the normalization of the epidemic, and discussed effective measures to promote the development of foreign labor services cooperation business. During the forum, Associate Professor Qiao Jian and his team also had in-depth exchanges with the attendees.

(International Office of Cooperation and Exchange)