While wrapping up the year, we are also planning for the 15th Five-Year Plan.

Investment promotion efforts across the country have entered the final sprint phase.

As the year draws to a close, we first review, then summarize, and finally plan.

For investment promotion professionals, this is a time to take things to the next level.

At this pivotal juncture bridging the past and the future, the Investment Promotion Network has launched its “final push.”

The “Activate·Take It Further” Investment Promotion Network New Year’s Forum 2025 concluded in Shanghai.

Over 110 investment promotion professionals—including directors of investment promotion bureaus, heads of investment promotion at overseas offices, and park-based investment promoters—gathered here.

From enthusiastic registration to stepping into the venue, it was a harmonious convergence of experience sharing, resource networking, and the exchange of ideas.

This year-end forum for investment promotion professionals was packed to capacity, with additional seats even added on the spot.

Some exchanged friendly handshakes and greetings with colleagues, while others gathered around the project matching area for negotiations.

The venue was filled with the constant buzz of enthusiastic conversation, intertwined with the passion of investment promotion professionals dedicated to their work.

This was not only a review and summary of the past year but also a fitting conclusion to this year’s investment promotion efforts.

01 Investment Promotion Experience: Reflections and Insights

Investment promotion begins with understanding and succeeds through methodology.

Under the new circumstances, the challenges are significant, and regions across the country are gearing up for action.

We believe that abstract theories are difficult to translate into action.

This is particularly true for project matching, where we must streamline customer acquisition pathways and make effective use of investment promotion tools.

With this in mind, we focus on practical strategies and core steps for innovative approaches.

At the year-end forum, guided by the principles of “tiered progression and practical implementation,” we aim to ensure that investment promotion professionals gain insights, reflect on what they learn, and achieve tangible results.

The program covers everything from the fundamental logic of industrial chain investment promotion to cutting-edge trends in capital-driven and AI-powered investment promotion, as well as an in-depth analysis of the embodied intelligence industry.

Unlike previous events, we have specially invited guests from diverse sectors—including government agencies, industry associations, and the GuChuan Industrial Research Institute—to share their insights.

We exclusively broke down the “Seven-Step Method for Industrial Chain Investment Promotion,” outlining the practical pathway of “investment promotion strategy planning—precise investor matching—efficient outreach and conversion—post-event review and continuous iteration.”

Many investment promotion professionals took out their notebooks to take detailed notes on the spot, and some even used their phones to snap photos of the slides, afraid of missing any key information.

Crucially, we specially invited Mr. Zheng, Vice President of the Shanghai Pudong New Area Management Consulting Industry Association and President of the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Entrepreneurship and Investment Alumni Association, to deliver a presentation titled “M&A Markets and Capital Investment Promotion.”

He focused on innovative strategies for investment promotion and asset securitization, detailing the full-process logic behind local state-owned capital entering the A-share market and addressing the core challenges of “what to invest in, how to invest, and who should invest.”

The investment promotion professionals in the audience would at times engage in quiet discussions over a resonant point of view, and at other times fall into deep thought over a novel approach.

At the New Year’s Forum, Director Cui of the Jilin City Bureau of Commerce presented a lecture titled “Innovative Strategies for Investment Promotion in the AI Era,” offering a fresh, unconventional perspective.

He elaborated on how AI can build a closed-loop system of “perception-decision-execution-feedback” in investment promotion, deeply exploring the application value of AI across the entire investment promotion process—including industry analysis, target screening, negotiations, and contract signing.

Regarding cutting-edge trends, the "Comprehensive Analysis of the Embodied Intelligence Industry" also captured the audience’s attention. As a key industry in the 15th Five-Year Plan, it directly impacts the core of future investment promotion efforts.

From finished products to core components and application scenarios, the presentation systematically dissected the entire industrial chain and analyzed the characteristics of industrial layouts in regions such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, Jiangsu and Zhejiang, as well as Sichuan, Anhui, and Shandong.

This “listen-and-ask, learn-and-reflect” model has long transcended one-way knowledge dissemination, evolving into an industry exchange characterized by the collision of ideas and the sharing of experiences.

The progressive structure, ranging from foundational practical skills to cutting-edge trends, not only meets the learning needs of investment promotion professionals at various levels but also provides actionable, practical pathways and references for their work.

02 Project Resources: Connections and Experiences

For investment promotion professionals, the ultimate focus remains on projects.

At the New Year Forum, the core of resource networking lies in connecting with enterprises.

Whether it’s identifying project sourcing channels or finding corporate contacts, these topics have garnered significant attention.

From the very start of the forum, the project matching zone at [Investment Network] was swarming with investment professionals who had arrived early.

We observed that all attention was focused on product services and project resources.

Some people pulled staff members aside to ask about the sources of the projects and how to connect with them.

Others discussed while navigating the platform, sharing promising projects they found on [Investment Network] in their company group chats.

Many investment promotion bureau directors swiped their fingers across their screens, completing identity verification on the spot and filtering through project information.

In the project matching zone, the sounds of inquiries, discussions, and explanations intertwined, serving as the best testament to the platform’s ability to connect resources.

By establishing this platform, 【Investment Network】 has broken down “information barriers” and “intermediary steps,” enabling direct, “face-to-face” connections between investment promoters and enterprises.

It is worth noting that at the New Year’s Forum, we also invited companies with investment needs to take the stage for a roadshow.

Armed with investment plans, site selection requirements, and key details such as the project’s current scale and projected output value, the company delivered a detailed presentation.

Some investment promoters listened intently while jotting down the company’s core needs; based on their local industrial foundations and upstream-downstream support systems, they seemed to be quickly formulating potential solutions in their minds.

In particular, a flurry of matchmaking activity erupted immediately after the session. Several investment promoters from different provinces and cities were the first to rise, quickly surrounding the company’s representatives to promote their local investment advantages.

The company representative patiently answered questions while carefully noting down the information. As government officials and business representatives exchanged questions and answers and exchanged contact information, the event reached its climax.

In addition, we pre-screened a selection of projects to facilitate on-site matchmaking with enterprises, with the core objective being that choosing the right tool leads to connecting with the right people.

At the New Year’s Eve forum, every attending investment promoter was presented with “exclusive phone privileges,” truly facilitating project matching and connection-building.

From product demonstrations to project matchmaking, and face-to-face exchanges between companies and investment promoters, every participant took a “step further” in connecting resources.

03 Expanding Networks: Exchange and Collaboration

Investment promotion is never a solo endeavor.

Being on the front lines, we understand each other’s hardships and challenges best.

This New Year’s Forum serves as the perfect platform for investment promoters to “gather with peers and expand their networks.”

Interactions among investment promoters involve not only the exchange of experiences but also the sharing of best practices.

The prize draws interspersed throughout the event further added to the warm and festive New Year’s atmosphere.

At the forum, you could see investment promotion professionals gathering to exchange ideas everywhere.

Regardless of region or rank, everyone spoke freely on topics such as “annual work reviews,” “overcoming project challenges,” and “plans for next year.”

A manager with years of experience in investment promotion told us:

“We’re usually busy in our own regions, so it’s rare to have the chance to engage in such in-depth exchanges with so many peers. Many of my uncertainties were suddenly cleared up through these discussions—it really is essential to stick together and support one another.”

This spontaneous, in-depth networking has long transcended the mere exchange of business cards, becoming a “bond” that connects investment promotion professionals through the sharing of experiences and resources.

During the coffee break, groups of three or five could be seen everywhere—in the hallways and lounge areas—sharing this year’s investment promotion achievements and discussing the challenges they’ve faced.

We also received candid feedback on-site, with some participants noting:

“I’ve taken some detours in my investment promotion work this year, but hearing these speakers’ insights has been very rewarding. Thank you to [Investment Promotion Network] for creating this platform—please invite us back here to host the event next year.”

We observed that investment promotion professionals who were previously strangers were exchanging contact information and making plans to stay in touch. This interaction among peers transcends geographical boundaries and serves as a microcosm of expanding professional networks.

The “Activate·Take It Further” Investment Promotion Network 2025 Year-End Forum has come to a close, but the interactions and connections among investment promotion professionals continue.

From the enthusiastic response when registration opened to the lively scene of a packed venue with extra seats added on the spot; from the exchange of insights during content sharing to the active engagement during project matchmaking; from the exchange of ideas among peers to the warm and joyful atmosphere of the raffle—the entire forum was enveloped in a passionate, sincere, and pragmatic atmosphere.

The year-end conclusion marks not only an end but also a new beginning.

The fresh ideas sparked, new resources connected, and new strength forged at this forum will continue to inject new momentum into investment promotion efforts.