A four-member delegation from the CIFIT Organizing Committee visited Switzerland, Spain and Portugal last December to promote the upcoming 14th CIFIT. Thanks to the strong support of Chinese diplomatic missions and CIFIT’s overseas strategic partners and with its hard work, the CIFIT delegation achieved significant results, receiving enthusiastic responses from government investment promotion agencies, trade associations and businesses in the three countries visited. All of them stated that they would facilitate their enterprises to participate in the upcoming CIFIT. The CIFIT delegation also held a large promotion seminar in the Swiss city of Bern and the Portuguese Lisbon, attracting representatives from Swiss and Portuguese government agencies, major trade associations, chambers of commerce, and businesses. Each seminar had more than 30 attendees, further boosting CIFIT’s name recognition in these two cities.

Recognizing the importance of forging more intensive ties for enhancing CIFIT’s internationality, the promotion delegation visited OSEC (Business Network Switzerland, equivalent to China Trade Promotion Council), Zurich Economic Development Board, Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Spain’s Catala Government Enterprise Internationalization Center, Spanish Entrepreneurs Association (CEOE), Spanish Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Association (CEPYME), and Portugal Trade and Investment Promotion Board (AICEP), Portuguese Chamber of Commerce, Portugal-China Chamber of Commerce, and Portuguese Chinese Chamber of Commerce. The delegation introduced CIFIT to them and discussed the possibility of sharing resources and the feasibility of forging long-term partnerships. Through these visits, the delegation gained a better understanding of these organizations and established effective initial links with them, which will be vital for CIFIT’s further promotion programs. These organizations stated that the CIFIT had allowed them to obtain complete information on CIFIT for the first time, and that they are interested in CIFIT as a platform for national and international investment cooperation and commence. They pledged that they would organize their affiliates and members to take part in CIFIT.