This episode contains segments on China’s Ministry of Commerce signalling its intention to clean up unreasonable differential treatment between domestic and foreign investors; on China’s October consumer and producer indices; on a recent analysis that expects China’s carbon emissions to fall in 2024; and on the latest EU officials’ visits to China. From the Chamber’s side: on 30th November, join us online or in person in Beijing for the 2023 edition of the European Chamber’s annual Cybersecurity Conference.
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Read more:
MOFCOM issues letter on the Special Clearance Work on Unreasonable Differential Treatment between Domestic and Foreign Investors
China price indices, October (in Chinese)
http://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfb/202311/t20231109_1944382.html
http://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfb/202311/t20231109_1944383.html
http://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/sjjd/202311/t20231109_1944384.html
Carbon Brief: China’s carbon emissions set to decline in 2024
Thierry Breton’s visit to China
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/speech_23_5684
https://www.europeanchamber.com.cn/en/past-events-gallery/24840
European Chamber event: Cybersecurity Conference 2023
Transcript:
XINHE: Hello and welcome to China Shortcuts,
MARIANN: the European Chamber’s weekly catchup on China’s business landscape.
XINHE: On 8th November, China’s Ministry of Commerce released a letter, announcing its intention to remove some of the barriers that currently prevent foreign-invested enterprises from competing with Chinese companies on an even footing.
MARIANN: The areas that have been outlined for reform in the Ministry’s letter reflect many of the Chamber’s recommendations put forward in its recently published Position Paper 2023/2024. Among the barriers that would be targeted, the letter listed examples such as standardising application processes for administrative licences and removing certain limitations on companies’ ownership structure in procurement activities. The level of detail in the examples shows that the Chamber’s recommendations are being carefully read and taken into consideration. The European Chamber will monitor developments and continue to work closely with the Ministry of Commerce to optimise the operating environment for all companies in China.
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XINHE: China’s consumer and producer prices both fell in October, heightening concerns over deflation.
MARIANN: Prices that producers in China charge their customers fell 2.6 per cent year-on-year, and at a slightly higher rate than in September. The decrease in producer prices continued for the thirteenth consecutive month. The National Bureau of Statistics highlighted that the drop was at least partly attributable to factors such as international crude oil and non-ferrous metal prices. Consumer prices decreased for the second time this year in October, dropping 0.2 per cent form the same period a year ago. The statistics bureau explained this with a sharp drop in food prices, pointing out that at the same time, prices paid for services, including tourism related services, edged up.
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XINHE: According to a new analysis conducted by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and published by the UK-based Carbon Brief, China’s carbon emissions are expected to fall in 2024.
MARIANN: Key findings of the analysis show that while China’s reopening at the beginning of 2023 led to a rebound in carbon-dioxide emissions, this also coincided with record installations of low-carbon electricity generating capacity. Although coal power capacity is also still in expansion, the jump in low-carbon energy capacity is creating an interest group that could have an increasing impact on China’s energy scene going forward. Taking these developments into account, the analysis forecasts that China’s carbon emissions could peak this year before entering a structural decline starting in 2024.
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XINHE: High-level meetings between the European Union and China continued in November, with European Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton visiting Beijing.
MARIANN: The Commissioner met with Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing on 10th November and held discussions on the potential areas where cooperation could be strengthened between the two sides, as well as de-risking. At a lunch the same day with members of the European Chamber, the Commissioner highlighted three priorities in the bilateral relationship: the need to rebalance the relationship, the need to de-risk the two economies and societies, and the need to address global challenges together. The next EU official to visit China will be EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, who will travel to Beijing for talks with China’s Special Envoy for Climate Change, Xie Zhenhua.
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XINHE: The European Chamber has organised its annual Cybersecurity Conference for six consecutive years since 2016. Due to its focus on legislative developments and interpretation of relevant regulations, the conference has become a well-recognised industry event on cybersecurity and data compliance for foreign companies operating in the Chinese market.
MARIANN: The upcoming, 2023 edition of the Cybersecurity Conference will bring together industry experts, academics and lawyers to analyse and discuss the latest regulatory and policy developments and help businesses find the best ways to establish a comprehensive compliance framework for their operations.
XINHE: Join us online or in person in Beijing on 30th November for expert insights on the three cross-border data transfer mechanisms, and on other issues related to data and personal information protection compliance.
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XINHE: Thanks for listening. Tune in again next week.
MARIANN: In the meantime, please find useful links in the episode notes.