Volvo brings more than leaders to global forum

The Volvo S80L model will be the official vehicle for VIPs during the ongoing Fortune Global Forum in Chengdu. [Photo/Provided to China Daily]

Though the business and political leaders attending this year's Fortune Global Forum in Chengdu on Thursday hail from different parts of the world, they will all get there the same way - a Volvo S80L.

Volvo won out over several top luxury brands to be the exclusive provider of VIP transportation for the event.

Volvo's participation in the forum will be greater than that of other car companies that had previously partnered with the event's organizing committee.

The company will co-host a roundtable discussion titled "the Future of Transportation" during which its executives will share their insights on sustainability as well as other issues, such as safety, the environment and smart mobility.

Volvo Chairman Li Shufu will represent the company in major activities of the forum. He will be joined by the auto group's global management team for discussions with other business leaders from around the world during the event.

One important reason Volvo won the bid to provide services for the event is that the auto brand shares much common ground with the Fortune Global Forum in terms of strategy.

The forum chose Chengdu as its venue, and Volvo selected the city as the location for its first Chinese production base, which is about to become operational.

Both see opportunities in Chengdu and recognize the strategic importance of the city in China's future.

Hakan Samuelsson, president and CEO of Volvo Car Group, said now is a time of rapid development for Volvo in the domestic market.

"Construction of the Chengdu plant is in the final stage. It demonstrates Volvo Cars' continued commitment to the development of China, particularly the southwestern region," Samuelsson said.

"We will be setting an excellent example for those global companies that are working to deepen their presence in China."

Shared values

But the selection of Chengdu still comes as a surprise to many.

Previous Chinese hosts of the forum were Shanghai in 1999, Hong Kong in 2001 and Beijing in 2005, all of which are international metropolises.

As an up-and-coming city in relatively underdeveloped western China, Chengdu is somewhat different from the established coastal powers that hosted it before.