This episode covers the business implications of European Council President Charles Michel’s visit to China, November foreign trade data, the expansion of the Geographical Indications products from the EU, and former Chinese President Jiang Zemin’s passing. Join the Cybersecurity Conference online on 12^th December to understand China’s regulatory developments in cybersecurity and data protection.

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Read more:

European Council President’s visit to Beijing:

https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2022/12/01/remarks-by-president-charles-michel-following-his-visit-to-china/

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjdt_665385/wshd_665389/202212/t20221201_10983932.html

GI list update (in Chinese):

https://www.cnipa.gov.cn/art/2022/12/2/art_575_180611.html?xxgkhide=1

Foreign trade data (in Chinese):

http://www.customs.gov.cn/customs/302249/zfxxgk/2799825/302274/302275/4720438/index.html

China’s financial markets pay tribute to Jiang Zemin (in Chinese):

http://www.csrc.gov.cn/csrc/c100028/c6894494/content.shtml

European Chamber Cybersecurity Conference:

https://www.europeanchamber.com.cn/en/upcoming-events/23119/_Webinar_2022_Cybersecurity_Conference

Transcript:

RUI: Hello and welcome to China Shortcuts,

MARIANN: the European Chamber’s weekly catchup about the Chinese business landscape.

(MUSIC)

RUI: On 1^st December, European Council President Charles Michel visited Beijing and held meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang.

MARIANN: The main highlight of the talks with regard to business was that the two sides showed readiness to continue to find areas of engagement. President Xi underlined the importance of strengthening macroeconomic policy coordination and fostering new growth drivers in areas such as digital economy, green development and environmental protection. He called for joint efforts to keep industrial and supply chains secure, stable and reliable, and to reject practices of decoupling and protectionism. He also urged the European side to oppose attempts to politicise and weaponise exchanges in economy, trade, science and technology. The President of the European Council called for greater reciprocity in business and a real level-playing field for European companies in China. He warned that a shift into ‘self-reliance’ carries dangers not only for China and the EU, but also for the world. Ahead of his visit to Beijing, a European Chamber delegation briefed European Council President Michel and his team on the key issues shaping China’s political, social and economic environment, and the impact that the Chinese leadership’s response to them has had on European businesses.

(MUSIC)

RUI: China’s November foreign trade data showed that the decline in exports and imports both accelerated from the previous month amid global and domestic economic headwinds.

MARIANN: In dollar-denominated terms, exports shrank 8.7 per cent year-on-year in November, which was the weakest data since the Chinese economy was first hit by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2020.  Imports declined at the fastest pace since May 2020, dropping more than 10 per cent year on year in November. The slowdown in foreign trade came as pandemic-related restrictions hampered domestic demand in November, while global demand continued to suffer from factors such as high inflation and recession woes in many countries.

(MUSIC)

RUI: On the 2^nd December, China’s National Intellectual Property Administration issued a notice about the expansion of the Geographical Indications or GI list, consisting of EU products that enjoy protection against imitation in the Chinese Market.

MARIANN: With the new expansion there will be 175 new items added to the list, including various types of wine, liquors, cheese and meat products. The original list consisted of a hundred European products when the GI agreement was signed in November 2019.

(MUSIC)

RUI: Trading was suspended for three minutes across China’s financial markets on Tuesday morning, with people standing in tribute to former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, who passed away on the 30^th November in Shanghai, at the age of 96.

MARIANN: Serving as president of China between 1993 and 2003, Jiang Zemin kept China committed to reform and opening up and brought the country into the World Trade Organization.

(MUSIC)

RUI:  2022 marks the fifth anniversary of the rollout of China’s Cybersecurity Law and the first anniversary of the enactment of the Data Security Law and the Personal Information Protection Law. A host of related regulations have been released in recent months, especially on cross-border data transfer, bringing about imminent compliance requirements for foreign companies operating in the Chinese market.

MARIANN: Join us on the 12^th December at this year’s Cybersecurity Conference to listen to a stellar line-up of thought leaders from industry, academia, law firms and research institutes explain the recent regulatory developments in cybersecurity and data protection.

RUI: Thanks for listening. Tune in again next week.

MARIANN: In the meantime, find useful links in the episode notes.