During my last trip to Shanghai, it was a great pleasure to join the Business Confidence Survey launch of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC).
The bad news
The promise fatigue continues - and is now already reflected in lower confidence for the businesses. This is in so far concerning as the excellent supply chain and workforce in China is an advantage for all players in the country - foreign and domestic. Moving away from this comes at a high cost for the companies and their customers.
President Jens Eskelund and Shanghai Chair Carlo Diego D'Andrea gave excellent speeches summarising the sentiment of members nationwide and also the Shanghai chapter's main concerns.
What I am hoping for
The hope remains for me that China's government is getting serious in setting up a level playing field. In turn, the rest of the world should be less condemning than what we have seen recently. The current trend is concerning on and for both sides.
Today's announcement of the EU Commission to increase duty on EVs from China was to be expected. We can just hope that China is not just going for tit for tat, but entering a real dialogue similar to what we had in the years before COVID.
Where there is still room
While the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) is most likely dead, there is still room for win-win between China and Europe.
Always great to see the friends and former colleagues at the chamber relentlessly working not only for the members, but for the understanding of China and Europe. Keep on with the great work.
Originally published as a LinkedIn post on 2024-06-12. View original on LinkedIn ›