On November 24, the 14th China o International Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility was held in Beijing, hosted by China News Service and China News Weekly, and guided by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council, and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions.
With the theme of "To Fellow Travelers: Building a Community of Responsibility", this forum brought together hundreds of guests from governments, enterprises, public welfare organizations and academia to discuss how to face opportunities and challenges under the new normal and build a community of responsibility.
Wang Zhengwei, Vice Chairman of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Chen Zhili, former State Councilor and Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress, Xu Shansong, Secretary of the Secretariat of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and member of the Party Leadership Group, Xu Yuming, Director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Bureau of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee, Li Xingwen, Deputy Inspector of the External Information Bureau of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee, Liang Zhifeng, Director of the Policy and Regulation Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Shen Zhanli, Spokesperson and Director of the News and Publicity Department of the Ministry of Emergency Management, Deputy Inspector of the General Bureau of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission Inspector Wang Li, Level 2 Inspector Li Jing of the Press and Publicity Department of the State Administration for Market Regulation, Xu Xiaodong, Specially Invited Vice President of the China Small and Medium Commercial Enterprises Association, Tang Min, Counselor of the State Council, Wang Zhenyao, Dean of the School of International Philanthropy and Dean of the China Philanthropy Research Institute of Beijing Normal University, Xu Zheng, actor, director, and producer, Zhang Xinxin, President of China News Service, Xia Chunping, Vice President, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of China News Service, and President of China News Weekly, attended and participated in the event.
Since 2005, this event has been held as scheduled every year, focusing on the hot topics of the year and speaking out for responsibility. It has now been fourteen years. It is an important historical node that coincides with the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up and the first year of implementing the spirit of the 19th National Congress. How to bring together the power of responsible parties and promote corporate social responsibility to adapt to the requirements of the new era to form a symbiotic and shared social ecological chain is a topic that this forum hopes to discuss with colleagues.
As a representative of the organizer, Xia Chunping, deputy president and deputy editor-in-chief of China News Service and president of China News Weekly, said in his speech that at present, China's economy and society are undergoing profound changes, and the traditional logic of business competition has transformed into a symbiotic logic. Every subject is a link in the social ecological chain and a community of shared responsibilities. People who share the same path walk together, "A person may walk freely, but without fellow travelers, we cannot reach the beautiful goal we yearn for."
Xia Chunping, deputy president and deputy editor-in-chief of China News Service and president of China News Weekly, delivered a speech at the scene
New normal, new responsibilities
"As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a new era, corporate social responsibility is also facing new tasks, new goals, and new requirements." Wang Zhengwei, vice chairman of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, emphasized in his speech that only by deeply grasping the background and requirements of the times in which companies are located, better combining business success with social responsibility, and striving to create their own value and social value can companies achieve sustainable development.
Wang Zhengwei, Vice Chairman of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, delivered a speech on the spot
Xu Shansong, Secretary of the Secretariat of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions and a member of the Party Leadership Group, also said in his speech that the current reform has become more systematic, holistic, and collaborative. As an important task in comprehensively deepening the reform, corporate social responsibility construction needs to form a new pattern of "diversified co-construction" with more extensive cooperation.
Xu Yuming, director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Bureau of the United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, pointed out that today, the changes of the times have given the word "responsibility" a heavier connotation. In the critical period of decisively winning the battle to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects, gathering wisdom, people's hearts, and consensus on responsibilities to the fullest extent will inject a more powerful source of power into building a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
"We are in an era of rapid economic, social, and technological changes. To realize the transformation from big to strong, China's manufacturing must use responsible manufacturing to enhance the reputation of Chinese brands, improve the competitiveness of Chinese enterprises and industries, and establish a good international image for Chinese enterprises and products." Liang Zhifeng, director of the Policy and Regulations Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, pointed out that the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology will work closely with relevant departments to improve the coordination and linkage mechanism and give full play to the promoting role of various social organizations and the main role of enterprises.
Jiao Fangzheng, member of the Party Leadership Group and Deputy General Manager of China National Petroleum Corporation, said: "The development of Chinese enterprises in the new era has also embarked on a new journey. Enterprises are both economic organizations and social organizations. The sustainable development of enterprises is inseparable from society. While pursuing their own development goals, they must actively fulfill their responsibilities and become excellent global corporate citizens."
People who share the same ideals work together to build a community of responsibility
During the keynote speech, Tang Min, counselor of the State Council, shared the new responsibilities that enterprises assume and the valuable development opportunities they face under the rural revitalization strategy. He said that by 2020, targeted poverty alleviation will come to an end, and there will be no absolute poverty in China. However, rural revitalization and rural governance will be a big task. This task is heavier than the targeted poverty alleviation task, and the opportunities are also greater. In the Internet environment, many high-quality resources can be delivered to the poorest areas through the Internet. Corporate social responsibility needs to go one step further to promote a deeper and more important development model under the rural revitalization strategy.
"The world has entered a stage of economic development of kindness, and human civilization is entering a period of comprehensive convergence." Wang Zhenyao, dean of the School of International Philanthropy and dean of Beijing Normal University's China Philanthropy Research Institute, emphasized that in this process, social value has gradually begun to lead economic value, and charity has begun to move from the edge to the center. It is taking on the mission of cultivating truth, goodness and beauty, promoting economic and social construction, and needs to develop people-oriented social services, advocate charity technology, promote environmental protection, and lead economic and social transformation through charity.
Actor, director, and producer Xu Zhengze, who won the title of "Responsible Person of the Year 2018", shared the story behind the movie "I'm Not the God of Medicine" with the audience. "I am an actor. If you give me this honor, it means that I have done a good job. I owe it to this character and this subject matter." He said that good works will condense a lot of emotions from the audience, and the audience will feel involved because the audience is compassionate. Works of art are meant to arouse the potential power of love in the hearts of every viewer. In addition, he also established the "Zheng Ai Fund" to help children with leukemia solve their academic problems and cooperated with the National Foundation for Poverty Alleviation. He hopes to learn from more "predecessors" who fulfill social responsibilities, "I hope everyone will take me with them."
In the roundtable dialogue session, guests from industry, academia and research institutes had an in-depth dialogue on how to build a "responsible community". Xu Xiaodong, specially invited vice president of the China Small and Medium-sized Commercial Enterprises Association, discussed with many business guests how business organizations can leverage their corporate resource advantages and create responsibility samples that suit themselves during the critical period of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way.
Responsibility dialogue session of the 14th China International Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility
Xu Xiaodong said that through the joint efforts of government departments and all sectors of society, China's corporate social responsibility construction has achieved fruitful results. According to the latest data released by the World Bank, as of October 2018, among more than 90 countries in the world, China ranked 46th in the world's business environment, rising 50 places in five years. Sinopec spokesman Lu Dapeng pointed out that charity activities bring several benefits. First, they can reshape the company's brand image; second, they can well improve the company's living environment; third, they guide employees to do good, guide employees to be good people, guide companies to be good companies, and guide the entire society to do good things, which is the corporate mission refined by Sinopec – "fuel a better life."
"Corporate social responsibility is not just a simple public welfare and charity activity, but should also be integrated into corporate business strategies and into the entire corporate philosophy, so as to maximize sustainable development." Zhang Suixin, senior executive vice president of Volkswagen Group (China), pointed out. Zhai Jingli, vice president of APP (China), said that the bigger a company becomes, the more responsibilities it should bear. Therefore, when there are factories under construction in various places, we will provide local public welfare, including poverty alleviation, disability assistance and social construction. More than 90% of our more than 40,000 domestic employees participate in charity activities. If we continue to do this, employees will have a sense of social responsibility, companies will have a sense of corporate responsibility, and I believe the country will be better.
"Based on our own capabilities and characteristics, we undertook the health and education poverty alleviation in Maigaiti County, a poor county in Kashgar, Xinjiang, and invited teachers from all schools and doctors from hospitals to Beijing for a three-month training. Their eagerness to learn moved us and encouraged us to do better." said Zhang Yonglu, deputy secretary of the Party Committee and chairman of the labor union of Tongfang Co., Ltd.
Yan Jianming, deputy general manager of GAC Passenger Vehicles, pointed out that charity matters can be very big, as big as promoting society or changing some things in society, but charity matters can also be very small, as small as just innocent smiling faces.
Zhang Qian, chairman of the Silijiren Charity Foundation, said that brand and responsibility are not a simple superposition, but a high degree of integration. Responsibility gives the brand more value, and the brand encourages companies to assume more responsibilities.
Establish a responsible model and lead a responsible future
At the end of the event, the organizer recognized the companies and individuals that have made outstanding contributions in the field of social responsibility in the past year. Tang Min, Counselor of the State Council, Wang Zhenyao, Dean of the School of International Philanthropy and Director of the China Philanthropy Research Institute of Beijing Normal University, and Xu Zheng, an actor, director, and producer, were elected as "Responsible Figures of 2018".
Chen Zhili, former State Councilor and Vice Chairman of the 11th National People's Congress Standing Committee, presented awards to the 2018 Responsible Persons
China National Petroleum Corporation, China Petrochemical Corporation, State Grid Corporation of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank of China, Volkswagen Group (China), Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales and Service Co., Ltd., BMW China and BMW Brilliance, Hyundai Motor (China) Investment Co., Ltd., Evergrande Group A total of 20 companies including Tuan Group Co., Ltd., Industrial Bank, Jaguar Land Rover China, GAC Passenger Vehicle Company, APP (China), H3C Group, Tongfang Co., Ltd., Infinitus (China) Co., Ltd., Perfect (China) Co., Ltd., Mona Lisa Group Co., Ltd., and Tourism TV won the title of "Responsible Enterprise of the Year 2018".
Chen Zhili, former State Councilor and Vice Chairman of the 11th National People's Congress Standing Committee, presented the award to the 2018 Responsible Enterprise
Chen Zhili, former State Councilor and Vice Chairman of the 11th National People's Congress Standing Committee, presented the award to the 2018 Responsible Enterprise
The winners said that each subject may have different responsibilities, but in the same responsibility ecosystem, the subject's responsibility values are inevitably related to each other.
The 14th China International Forum on Corporate Social Responsibility launches the "Responsible Brand Plan"
It is worth mentioning that China News Service and China News Weekly, the organizers of the forum, were one of the first media to pay attention to the field of corporate social responsibility. In order to build a broader community of responsibility, they launched the "Responsible Brand Plan" at this forum, aiming to integrate their communication resources, bring together various forces, continue to advocate the persistence and innovation of enterprises in the field of social responsibility, and contribute lasting momentum to the future of "Responsible China".
