The European Chamber published its annual Business Confidence Survey in early May. It shows a significant improvement in perceptions about market opening: 19% of respondents report significant market opening in their industry, which is the highest level recorded in the past decade; and 26% of respondents report some opening, the same proportion as last year.

In this episode, our host Gao Rui, senior marketing manager at the European Chamber, is joined by two industry experts, Mario Huang, Chair of Banking and Securities Sub-working Group, and Johannes Weilharter, Chair of Construction Working Group. They look at some of the survey’s findings related to market access and discuss opportunities and challenges facing European banking and construction industries and their willingness to invest in China.

The European Chamber published its annual Business Confidence Survey in early May. One section of the survey is on carbon neutrality. It is a key policy priority for the Chinese Government, which targets peaking carbon emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. It is also a key goal of European businesses in China, who not only need to live up to their global corporate sustainability pledges, but also comply with strict EU regulations.

In today’s episode, our host Gao Rui, senior marketing manager at the European Chamber, is joined by Christoph Schrempp, Chair of the European Chamber’s Tianjin Chapter, and Xu Zhonghua, Chair of Carbon Market Working Group. They look at some of the survey’s findings on carbon neutrality and discuss companies’ decarbonisation progress, strategies, challenges and areas of cooperation with China.

With Chinese and global economic growth expected to slow, and China making the transition to long-term management of the COVID-19 pandemic, how are HR professionals’ strategies on workforce management evolving?

In this episode, our host Gao Rui, senior marketing manager at the European Chamber, is joined by Sunny Sun and Wang Shuhong, chair and vice chair of European Chamber’s Human Resources Forum in Beijing, and Ning Fei, Head of HR and Workplace, Airbus in China. They discuss HR strategies and best practices from European companies’ perspectives.

One founding member of the European Chamber went on to serve as its president for four terms spanning over a decade and a half, all while balancing an enormous workload, dividing his time between Chamber tasks and his day-job as the head of BASF in Beijing. After stepping down as Chamber president in May, he left big shoes to fill, as well as a legacy that will carry on informing the development of business ties between the EU and China for years to come.

In this episode, our host Mariann Nagy, policy and communications manager at the European Chamber, sat down with President Emeritus Joerg Wuttke to look back at his prolific work at the Chamber and the future he envisages for the organisation at a time when EU-China relations are at a critical juncture.

The European Chamber, in partnership with the Mercator Institute for China Studies, (MERICS) launched the joint-report China’s Innovation Ecosystem: The localisation dilemma on 21^st April. The report was the second of a planned three rounds of surveys and interviews among the Chamber’s members on European companies’ research and development (R&D) activities in China.

In this episode, our host Mariann Nagy, policy and communications manager at the European Chamber, is joined by Kris Van Gasse, vice chair of the European Chamber’s R&D working group, and Jacob Gunter, senior analyst at MERICS’ Economic Research Team. They look at some of the reports’ key findings, such as the different factors influencing European companies’ innovation in China, as well as the wide range of R&D strategies they deploy in the face of the complexity of China’s business environment.

As policymakers and companies all over the world strive to harness the potential of digitalisation while limiting the risks, what steps have European Union (EU) policymakers taken to position Europe at the forefront of the digital revolution? And what aspects of digitalisation are informing discussions with China, which the EU recognises as a partner, a competitor and systemic rival?

In this episode, our host Ester Cañada Amela, advocacy manager for the EU SME Centre and senior business manager for European affairs at the European Chamber, is joined by EU Ambassador to China, HE Jorge Toledo, to explore these questions and more.

After an enforced break of nearly three years, the European Chamber’s European Tour took place in-person from 9^th to 13^th January, to present the Chamber’s messaging to key European stakeholders, including officials from the European Commission and the European Parliament, and representatives from industry associations and think tanks. The Chamber delegation participated in a total of 48 meetings and events in Brussels, 26 of which were with high-level officials, with smaller delegations holding additional meetings in Paris, Berlin and Copenhagen afterwards.

In this episode, our host Ester Cañada Amela, advocacy manager for the EU SME Centre and senior business manager for European affairs at the European Chamber, sat down with three delegates of the tour – Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Chamber, and vice presidents Jens Eskelund, Massimo Bagnasco and Carlo D’Andrea. They discussed their experiences and some of the key outcomes of the tour, as well as their expectations on the future of EU-China relations.

In this episode, our host Ziting Zhang, the European Chamber’s head of government affairs, is joined by Damien Plan, agricultural counsellor at the European Union (EU) Delegation to China, to talk about the development of the landmark bilateral agreement on Geographical Indications between the EU and China, the introduction of cheese to the Chinese market, and bilateral trade on food.

In this episode, our host Carl Hayward, general manager of European Chamber Beijing Office, is joined by Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Chamber, and Jens Eskelund, vice president of the European Chamber. They discuss why and how companies’ supply chain strategies are shifting, what the implications are and what can be expected in the future.