On October 22, G20 Entrepreneurship Roundtable 2020 was held by Entrepreneurship Research Center on G20 Economics with the support of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of P.R.China (MOHRSS). Under the theme of Policies and Actions to Promote Entrepreneurship in the Post-pandemic Era, the event combined online and offline activities and was a significant meeting for G20 members to discuss policies to boost entrepreneurship in the post-pandemic era. It was the fourth consecutive year for Entrepreneurship Research Center on G20 Economics to be the host of the event.
Mr. Hao Bin, Director General of the Department of International Cooperation of MOHRSS, attended the event and gave a speech. Professor Gao Jian, Director of the Entrepreneurship Research Center on G20 Economies, delivered a keynote speech.
Mr. Hao Bin pointed out in his speech that, in recent years, G20 presidencies have all attached great importance to entrepreneurship. It was emphasized in the declaration of the G20 Labour and Employment Ministers Meeting that the Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan should be further implemented for improving youth employment and strengthening training on entrepreneurial skills. He also said that to cope with the challenges posed by the current COVID-19 pandemic, we should try to turn crises into opportunities, and use the platform provided by the Entrepreneurship Research Center on G20 Economies to share our experiences and insights, enhance entrepreneurship and employment, and pursue decent work.
According to Mr. Hao Bin, the Chinese government attaches great importance to entrepreneurship. For instance, Premier Li Keqiang made an important speech at the National Mass Innovation and Entrepreneurship Week, encouraging more people to start businesses and make innovations. In the future, the Chinese government will further promote entrepreneurship by strengthening entrepreneurship training, improving secured loan policies in favor of entrepreneurs, supporting competent groups in starting businesses, and promoting flexible employment through multiple channels.
Professor Gao Jian summarized policies of various G20 members to cope with the pandemic and support MSMEs and startups, and he categorized such policies into three types, namely bailout policies, transformation policies, and innovation policies. Generally speaking, G20 members’ policies to support entrepreneurship mainly focus on economic relief, including financing support, employment stabilization, and reduction of the burden on enterprises, though policies of different countries vary significantly when it comes to transformation and innovation. China’s policies to support entrepreneurship in the post-pandemic era are more balanced, as they provide support for both MSMEs and startups in terms of economic relief, transformation, and innovation. He suggested that, G20 members should shift their policies to support entrepreneurship in the post-pandemic era towards higher degrees of equalization and normalization
Professor Gao Jian also released the G20 Entrepreneurship Dashboard in his speech. The dashboard consists of two parts, one being the evaluation of the progress of the implementation of the G20 Entrepreneurship Action Plan, and the other being the Entrepreneurship Index of G20 Members.
The event was divided into two sessions. The first session focused on boosting entrepreneurship to promote employment, which was hosted by Ms. Qian Xiaoyan, Deputy Director General of the Department of International Cooperation of MOHRSS. During the session, Mr. David Aikman, Chief Representative Officer of the World Economic Forum’s China Office, Mr. Mo Rong, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Labour and Social Security, and Mr. Chai Haishan, Deputy Director General of Employment Department of MOHRSS, delivered keynote speeches respectively on topics of the macro economy context and needs for a Great Reset, financing services for entrepreneurship in the context of digitalization and upgrade the policy of boosting entrepreneurship to promote employment in respond to the new challenge of post-pandemic era.
The second session centered on support the sustainable development of startups and SMEs, and was chaired by Professor Gao Jian, Director of the Entrepreneurship Research Center on G20 Economies. Mr. Victor Van Vuuren, Director of Enterprise Department at International Labor Organization, Ms. Slavica Singe, UNESCO Chair in Entrepreneurship Education of Croatia, and Macro Bianchini, an economist of OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities, delivered keynote speeches respectively on topics of how to provide support for the sustainable development of startups and SMEs, equalizing access to opportunities through entrepreneurial competences and relevant knowledge, and policy recommendations for SMEs digital transformation in the post-pandemic era.
More than 20 countries participated in the roundtable, 16 of which are members of the G20. The event gathered experts from international organizations, including the International Labour Organization, the World Economic Forum, OECD, and UNESCO, officials from departments of the G20 government, heads of relevant departments of social organizations, as well as experts from research institutes in the field of entrepreneurship and employment, and representatives from companies specializing in business incubation, entrepreneurship education, financial and digital services, etc. They gave presentation and discussed topics such as youth entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship training, entrepreneurship ecosystem, flexible employment, fintech, and policies adopted by various countries to support entrepreneurship during the COVID-19 pandemic.