(May 29, 2020, Beijing) The Organizing Committee of China Auto Forum has officially announced that the "2020 China Auto Forum" will be held in Shanghai, China from August 13th to August 15th, 2020. The forum, a top event for the automotive industry, will be organized by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), supported by the International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (OICA) and the World Economic Forum (WEF). This event will be the first top event for the auto industry, and the most high-end, authoritative and largest event to be held after the outbreak of coronavirus in this year. Since 2011, the forum has been successfully held for 9 years, and has received wide attention for its "high-end, pragmatic and efficient" nature. The China Auto Forum is known as the "Davos" of the auto industry in China; and serves as an invaluable platform for world auto leaders, industry elites from home and abroad as well as government officials, well-known experts and scholars to interact face to face.

Keeping pace with the times, seeking breakthroughs

The year of 2020 is destined to be remembered by our descendants, for it is the year where the timeframes of the Two Centenary Goals converge; it is the decisive year for building China into a comprehensive moderately prosperous society; it is the final year for completing the 13th Five-Year Plan; it is the year for formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan; and it is the year of transition for China's auto industry to embark on high-quality development.

As the world economy faces profound changes unseen in a century and the “ACES”(autonomous, connected, electric, and shared vehicles) become trendy, China's automotive industry is undergoing profound changes. After several five-year plans, China's auto industry has become a pillar of the economy, and China is increasingly recognized as the world's largest new car market. Since 2009, China is counted as the largest automobile market worldwide for 11 consecutive years both in terms of production and sales. It has become the most important market for domestic and foreign car makers, and the core stage for leading technical trends in the global auto industry. In recent years, domestic car makers have continued their upward trajectory and achieved periodic results. Similarly, players on the automotive industrial chain, as a whole, have enjoyed remarkable growth.

However, after 20-odd years of growth in production and sales, China's auto market recorded a negative growth for the first time in 2018, contracted further in 2019. From a period of high-speed growth to the latter half of popularization, the market faces an ever-increasing downward pressure. Accordingly, Chinese brands’ shares were down, and China's auto industry has entered into a crucial period of structural adjustment and transition.

The outbreak of coronavirus in early 2020 has taken a heavy toll on the automotive industry. Furthermore, the spread of the virus around the globe has added uncertainties to world politics and economy, thus disrupting the interdependent global industrial chain and putting globalization into reverse. In a changing environment, China's auto industry will face many greater challenges...

At present, China and the world are in the most critical period. In this context, the NPC and CPPCC sessions were held in late May. In Premier Li Keqiang's report on the work of the government, he not only pointed the direction for China's future economic development, but also assured the healthy development of China's automotive industry in future. In response to challenges posed by covid-19 control, the Party Central Committee has pointed out that we must ensure stability on the six fronts to keep the fundamentals of the economy stable; implement the strategy of expanding domestic demand to make up for weak foreign demand; deepen supply-side structural reform to promote the recovery of consumption and to encourage and enable consumer spending. To that end, our government will advance reforms to streamline administration and delegate power, improve regulation, and upgrade services; advance reforms to promote market-based allocation of production factors; improve the overall national strength of state capital and SOEs; foster an enabling environment for the development of the private sector. All of these measures will effectively address the institutional and structural problems that hold up industrial development in the past. Furthermore, to promote higher-standard opening up and stabilize the overall performance of foreign trade and foreign investment, we must stay committed to opening our door wider to the world, keep our industrial and supply chains stable, and make opening up a catalyst for reform and development. We will foster an enabling market environment in which all companies, Chinese and foreign, are treated as equals and engaged in fair competition. Therefore, facing new opportunities and challenges, we're confident that our automotive industry will enter into a high-quality development stage.