New Zealand was the guest of honour at the Fourth China Cooperative Forum of the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) held over two days 18-19 March 2024 at Haikou in Hainan province, China. As NZCFS President, I was invited to speak at the forum on how NZ cooperative businesses are addressing international supply chain challenges and competing successfully in world markets.
The Forum was organised by the International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives (ICCIC, or Gung Ho) as part of their work promoting the development of Chinese cooperatives and friendly exchanges and cooperation with cooperatives from all over the world.
In 2012 — the International Year of Cooperatives — the United Nations had declared New Zealand to be the world’s most cooperative economy. Who knew?
Thirty percent of all New Zealanders are members of at least one of our 331 cooperatives, mutuals, societies, and credit unions. Our top 30 cooperatives by revenue generate 13 percent — by one estimate as much as 19 percent — of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This compares to an average of three percent of a country’s GDP generated by cooperatives worldwide.
The first day of the forum began with an address from Ariel Guarco, Chair of the International Cooperative Alliance. Keynote speakers included Colombia Ambassador to China HE Mr Sergio Cabrera;, Supervisor of the International Committee for the Promotion of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives Mr Liu Denggao; Deputy Director of Hainan International Economic Development Bureau Mr Yang Shanhua; Committee Member of the China International Cooperative Committee Ms Yuan Peng; and me.
You can read a copy of my speech here (PDF).
In four separate ceremonies, the ICCIC Chair Michael Crook signed cooperation agreements with Huaxi Hope Group and Sichuan Xiwang Dekang Supply Chain Management Group; Sichuan Forestry Association; Shanxi Datong Supply and Marketing Cooperative Union; and Shanxi Datong Disabled Persons Federation.
The afternoon programme included three moderated dialogues and an announcement of a newly established “Youth and Women’s Work Committee”. Committee members include Zealive Institute of New Zealand Director Caroline Li, who had travelled from New Zealand to Hainan to attend the forum. Congratulatory speeches were delivered by President of Lanzhou City College Mr Han Gaonian; Vice-Chair of the Youth and Women’s Work Committee Ms Li Yurong; and ICCIC Chair Michael Crook.
The day concluded with a lecture by Chair of the Youth and Women’s Work Committee Professor Wu Qing, a sprightly 86-year-old Gung Ho veteran from Beijing.
The second day of the forum was a little less formal and included visits to the Song Family Ancestral Home and a neighbouring museum dedicated to the memory of Mme Song Qingling (also known as Soong Ching-ling). Song Qingling was the wife of Sun Yat-sen, leader of China’s 1911 revolution and first president of the Republic of China. In 1939 Song Qingling founded the China Defense League, which raised funds and sought supplies for the Chinese Communist controlled areas of northern China.
Wreaths were laid by ICCIC and NZCFS in a short but moving ceremony at the foot of Song Qingling’s statue in the front of the museum. In a separate unveiling ceremony, the museum was designated by ICCIC as an Internationalism Training Base.
After the event was over, the forum attendees enjoyed a lunch of famous Wenchang chicken. This dish, I am told, is the original version of Hainanese chicken rice developed by Hainanese immigrants in Malaysia and adopted as a national dish by the Singaporeans.
The following day, Caroline Li and I paid a visit to the Enhance International Medical Center, a leading provider of regenerative and cell therapy treatments based in the Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone in Bo’ao, Hainan province. The hospital was built and is currently managed by Enhance Biomedical, a Shanghai-based holding company with facilities in Hainan, Shanghai, Taipei, and Mexico.
Also, thanks to an unexpected flight delay, I had an opportunity to enjoy a visit to the Hainan coastline with Caroline and her family, including a stroll along the Qionghai beachfront and an excellent seafood lunch in Tanmen Zhongxin Fishing Port. It’s easy to see why Hainan is such a popular Chinese holiday destination. With direct flights from Auckland to Haikou and visia-free entry to Hainan for New Zealand passport holders, Hainan might become a popular destination for New Zealanders, too.
