The 6th China International SME Fair Special Training – Strengthening Enterprises Project & Pearl River Delta International Management Consulting Forum Concluded Successfully
Centered on the theme "Global Management Consulting Cases," the forum invited experts from the world's top consulting firms as key speakers. It aimed to provide professional, systematic, and comprehensive management consulting solutions to address the urgent issues faced by enterprises in Guangdong province during the financial crisis – including industrial upgrading, coping strategies for the economic recovery period after the financial storm, management innovation, and strategic development. The event featured the sharing of classic consulting cases, the release of the latest relevant statistical data, and a gathering of international consulting firms – offering attendees an opportunity to consult global think tanks and gain business wisdom.
On September 24, the 6th CISMEF Special Training – Strengthening Enterprises Project & Pearl River Delta International Management Consulting Forum concluded successfully at the Grand Hyatt Guangzhou. As one of the flagship events of the 6th CISMEF, the forum was co-organised by the Guangdong Provincial Association for the Promotion of SME Development and received support from institutions including Guangzhou Daily, the Advanced Training Centre of the School of Business Administration at South China University of Technology, and NetEase Corporate Mail. The event attracted over 1,200 participants throughout the day and drew significant attention and coverage from numerous media outlets, including Guangzhou Television, Southern Television, Guangdong Radio, NetEase Finance, Guangzhou Daily, Southern Daily, Southern Net, Win Weekly, China Industry News, China Business News, and 21st Century Business Review.
At the opening ceremony, Zheng Xin, Deputy Director of the Small and Medium Enterprises Department under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), delivered a speech stating that enterprises must make substantial efforts to accelerate the transformation of their development models, effectively enhance their innovative capabilities, and improve their management standards. He emphasized that management is an eternal theme for business development. He highly praised this year's CISMEF special training, noting that it revolved around strengthening management, improving core competitiveness, and enhancing overall enterprise quality. He commended the event for its clear focus, strong relevance, high-level vision, numerous highlights, and rich content, describing it as a practical initiative that genuinely helps enterprises improve their management – a positive development for SMEs and highly beneficial for the attending business leaders.
Liu Huanquan, Director of the Guangdong Provincial SME Bureau, stated in his address that management consulting service institutions must continuously improve their own capabilities and their ability to plan for enterprises, so as to better offer strategic advice to the vast number of SMEs. At the same time, he encouraged SMEs to seize this opportunity, identify their own shortcomings, and proactively seek management consulting services to enhance their adaptability, turning crises into opportunities – a crucial step that SMEs themselves need to take. With the newly issued State Council guidelines on further promoting the development of SMEs, he expressed confidence that SMEs in Guangdong would surely usher in a new spring of growth.
At the opening ceremony, the "Pearl River Delta Consulting & Training Alliance" was officially established. Led by the Guangdong Provincial Association for the Promotion of SME Development and jointly initiated by renowned consulting and management organizations across various sectors, the alliance aims to integrate the complementary strengths of its members, build an industry exchange platform, and provide enterprises across the province with internationalized, professional, and systematic consulting and training solutions – thereby promoting healthy transformation and adjustment of enterprises.
Singapore International Consulting & Training (ICT) was also invited to participate in this Pearl River Delta Consulting & Training Alliance and the Enterprise Management Consulting Expo. The organization offered a workshop titled "Boundless Business Wisdom", designed to assist small and medium-sized enterprises in breaking through conventional thinking patterns through more systematic innovation and change models. The workshop helped SMEs expand their strategic thinking, cross market competition barriers, reshape strategic advantages, create new markets and business concepts, develop new products and services, establish new business models, enhance industrial value, improve operational efficiency, handle complex management issues, reduce costs, and adapt to environmental changes.
In addition, Singapore International Consulting & Training also presented the "Wisdom Corner" Enlightening Workshop for SME Leaders. Through participation in various inspiring courses and interactive activities, business leaders were able not only to network with peers and gain more business opportunities, but also – under the guidance and support of professional mentors – to receive valuable insights on corporate innovation and strategic development. This helped them achieve breakthroughs in both their professional careers and personal lives, ultimately reaching their goals of success.
I. Programme Background: SME Challenges and Opportunities Amidst the Financial Crisis
In September 2009, the aftermath of the global financial storm continued to profoundly impact China's economy. In the Pearl River Delta region, which relied heavily on export‑oriented industries, a large number of small and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs) were facing multiple challenges, including shrinking exports, strained cash flows, rising costs, and mounting pressure for industrial upgrading. Helping the vast number of SMEs break through their difficulties and achieve transformation became an urgent priority for governments at all levels and across all sectors of society.
Against this backdrop, the 6th China International Small and Medium Enterprises Fair (CISMEF) was held from September 22 to 25, 2009, at the Guangzhou International Convention and Exhibition Centre (Canton Fair Pazhou Complex). The fair featured 5,000 international standard booths, spanned an exhibition area of 100,000 square meters, and attracted participating enterprises from across China as well as from Spain and other countries and regions. As one of the flagship events of this year's CISMEF, the "6th CISMEF Special Training – Strengthening Enterprises Project & Pearl River Delta International Management Consulting Forum" was officially held on September 24 at the Grand Hyatt Guangzhou.
The forum was themed "Global Management Consulting Cases" and invited experts from the world's top consulting firms as keynote speakers. It aimed to provide professional, systematic, and comprehensive management consulting solutions to address the issues faced by SMEs during the financial crisis, including industrial upgrading, coping strategies for economic recovery, management innovation, and strategic development.
The forum was co‑organized by the Guangdong Provincial Association for the Promotion of SME Development and received support from institutions including Guangzhou Daily, the Advanced Training Centre of the School of Business Administration at South China University of Technology, and NetEase Corporate Mail. The event attracted over 1,200 participants throughout the day and drew significant attention and coverage from numerous mainstream media outlets, including Guangzhou Television, Southern Television, Guangdong Radio, NetEase Finance, Guangzhou Daily, Southern Daily, Southern Net, Win Weekly, China Industry News, China Business News, and 21st Century Business Review.
At the opening ceremony, several government leaders delivered important speeches, pointing the way forward for SMEs.
Zheng Xin, Deputy Director of the Small and Medium Enterprises Department under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), stated in his address that China's SMEs were generally facing difficulties in production and operations due to the impact of the international financial crisis. He emphasised that management is an eternal theme for business development. Enterprises must make substantial efforts to accelerate the transformation of their development models, effectively enhance their innovative capabilities, and improve their management standards. He highly praised this year's CISMEF special training, noting that it "has a clear focus, strong relevance, high‑level vision, numerous highlights, and rich content – it is a practical initiative that genuinely helps enterprises improve their management."
Liu Huanquan, Director of the Guangdong Provincial SME Bureau, stated in his address that management consulting service institutions must continuously improve their own capabilities and their ability to plan for enterprises, so as to better offer strategic advice to the vast number of SMEs. At the same time, he encouraged SMEs to identify their own shortcomings, proactively seek management consulting services, enhance their adaptability, and turn crises into opportunities. He expressed confidence that, with the newly issued State Council guidelines on further promoting the development of SMEs, SMEs in Guangdong would "surely usher in a new spring of growth."
An important outcome of the forum was the official establishment of the "Pearl River Delta Consulting & Training Alliance."
The alliance was led by the Guangdong Provincial Association for the Promotion of SME Development and jointly initiated by renowned consulting and management organizations across various sectors. The alliance aims to integrate the complementary strengths of its members, build an industry exchange platform, and provide enterprises across the province with internationalized, professional, and systematic consulting and training solutions – thereby promoting the healthy transformation and adjustment of enterprises.
Xu Xiaoxia, Director of the Training Centre at the School of Business Administration, South China University of Technology, speaking as a representative of the alliance's founding members, noted that since the global economic crisis, Pearl River Delta enterprises – which are predominantly export‑oriented – had been severely impacted. The purpose of establishing the consulting and training alliance under these circumstances was to build a high‑level consulting and training service platform for SMEs. She stated that serving SMEs is "a long‑term mission of great significance" and invited more outstanding management consulting and training institutions to join the alliance, creating a multi‑level and diversified service framework.
As an internationally renowned management consulting and training expert, Mr. James Chin, Chairman of Singapore International Consulting & Training (ICT), was also invited to participate in this Pearl River Delta Consulting & Training Alliance and the Enterprise Management Consulting Expo.
At the forum, James Chin offered two core services for SMEs:
1. The "Boundless Business Wisdom" Workshop
James Chin brought the "Boundless Business Wisdom" workshop, designed to assist SMEs in achieving breakthroughs through more systematic innovation and change models. The workshop covered multiple critical dimensions of business operations, including:
Transcending conventional thinking and expanding the boundaries of strategic outlook
Crossing market competition barriers and reshaping strategic advantages
Creating new markets and business concepts
Developing new products and services
Designing new business models
Enhancing industrial value and operational efficiency
Handling complex management issues
Reducing costs
Adapting to environmental changes
2. The "Wisdom Corner" Enlightening Workshop for SME Leaders
In addition, James Chin introduced the "Wisdom Corner" Enlightening Workshop for SME Leaders. Through inspiring courses and interactive activities, this workshop helped SME leaders achieve multiple gains:
Networking with peers and gaining more business opportunities
Receiving insights on corporate innovation and strategic development under the guidance of professional mentors
Achieving breakthroughs in both their professional careers and personal lives
Reaching their goals of success
In September 2009, at a time when the global financial storm was still deeply impacting China's real economy, the successful hosting of the 6th CISMEF Special Training – Strengthening Enterprises Project & Pearl River Delta International Management Consulting Forum, along with the official establishment of the "Pearl River Delta Consulting & Training Alliance," fully demonstrated the firm resolve of governments and all sectors of society to join forces in helping SMEs overcome difficulties and achieve transformation and upgrading.
As an invited international consulting expert, James Chin brought his years of accumulated innovation and change concepts and systematic methodologies to the vast number of SMEs in the Pearl River Delta through the two workshops – "Boundless Business Wisdom" and "Wisdom Corner." This not only provided enterprises in difficulty with a complete pathway from mindset breakthrough to practical implementation, but also further underscored his unique value and sustained contribution in bridging Eastern and Western management cultures and facilitating innovation and change for Chinese enterprises.
II. Forum Highlights: A Gathering of Experts with Enthusiastic Response
III. Government Leaders' Addresses: Charting the Course with High Hopes
IV. Official Establishment of the Pearl River Delta Consulting & Training Alliance
V. James Chin's Participation: Providing Practical Solutions for Innovation and Change
VI. Conclusion