On July 14, AmCham China hosted the 2022 Social Impact Summit. The virtual Summit welcomed over 100 attendees and featured speakers from Chinese government, international organizations, and multinational companies.
As the pandemic rages on, the global community has realized that economic growth and fair development should not be in conflict. More than ever, throughout this past year, AmCham China’s member companies have contributed to building a resilient, sustainable, and robust society in China.
This year’s Social Impact Summit built upon the 2021 Social Impact Reports released under the initiative earlier this spring. The three Reports focus on the topics of carbon reduction, rural revitalization, and the digital economy, and contain analysis of China’s policies as well as best practices from nearly 50 multinational companies (MNCs). The Report on Green and Low-Carbon Economy centers on how MNCs’ edge in technology and capital, along with their extensive social resources, has put them in a prime position to facilitate US-China climate change cooperation and help China reduce its overall emissions. The Report on Digital Economy discusses how MNCs can assist SMEs to accelerate and achieve digital transformation and improve access to global markets. The Report on Rural Revitalization focuses on how MNCs can better combine social responsibility with business strategies to support China’s rural revitalization and sustainable development.
Welcome remarks were delivered by AmCham China President Michael Hart who then introduced the event’s keynote speaker, United Nations Resident Coordinator in China Siddharth Chatterjee. In his keynote, Chatterjee discussed how the business community can support global cooperation in climate change and development, remarking that, “The UN acts as a bridge not only for cooperation among Member States, but also for partnerships between public and private sectors.”
The first of the three panels discussed addressing climate change through US-China cooperation in decarbonization. The panel was moderated by Gracie Sun, Senior Advisor and Managing Director of Green Finance Center, Paulson Institute and Vice Chair of APAC and Managing Director of Edelman Global Advisory. Sun was joined by panelists Daojiong Zha, Professor in the School of International Studies and Institute of South-South Cooperation and Development at Peking University; William Yu, President of Honeywell China; and Hong Sun, Chief Engineer at Administrative Center for China’s Agenda 21.
The second panel discussion was on the topic of aiding SMEs with digital transformation and accessing new markets. The panel was hosted by Vice President of Greater China Government Affairs at Dell Bing Zhou. He was joined by three panelists, Lipo Shan, Director-General of China Centre for Promotion of SME Development; Ping Zhao, Vice President of CCPIT Research Institute; and Raymond Choo, Vice President of Google Greater China.
The final panel of the day discussed supporting China’s rural revitalization efforts to achieve common prosperity. The panel was moderated by Jennifer Lee, Executive Director of AmCham China’s US-China Agriculture and Food Partnership. She was joined by panelists, Yadong Ding, Deputy Executive Director of China Foundation for Rural Development; Jin Fang, Vice Chairman & Secretary General at CDRF; Min Tang, Executive Vice Chairman at YouChange China Social Entrepreneur Foundation; Songmei Zhang, Deputy Director General of China Rural Technology Development Center; and Judy Zhang, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at PepsiCo.
About the Social Impact Initiative
In July 2020, AmCham China launched an innovative Social Impact Initiative, focused initially on healthcare reforms and the revitalization of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). One of the core principles driving this Initiative is our belief that the private sector has a meaningful role to play in helping China to achieve its objectives and that AmCham China members are uniquely qualified to help. Each year, we hold a number of working sessions as well as a high-profile Social Impact Summit. We also publish one or more annual reports highlighting the work that has been done and the progress that has been achieved.