Keeping Business thriving and boosting development confidence--Great success on the Europe Day celebration 2020 Go back »

2020-06-16 | Nanjing

11th of June, European Chamber Nanjing Chapter hosted the Europe Day Celebration 2020 in Nanjing. The Department of Commerce of Jiangsu, European diplomats, as well as representatives of many European and Chinese firms attended the conference.

Several European diplomats have positive attitudes towards the future. Ulrich Weigl, Minister-Counsellor, Head of Trade Section, EU Delegation to China mentioned the mutual support between China and the EU to fight against coronavirus. Benoit Guidee, Consul General at Consulate General of France in Shanghai also mentioned that France welcomes China to invest. Having lived in China for a long time, he has confidence in European businesses in China. 

Sun Jin, Deputy Director General, Department of Commerce, Jiangsu congratulated the European Chamber for its anniversary and mentioned that although Chinese economy suffered a great loss due to this pandemic, Jiangsu is still going strong. European and Chinese firms should cooperate more and develop mutual trust to face potential challenges in the future. ‘The greatest certainty is uncertainty.’ Sun said. 

In this pandemic, there are some rumors that foreign firms are leaving China. Bernhard Weber, Chairman of European Chamber Nanjing Board said that it is not true. ‘A lot of firms came to Nanjing and China at a time of uncertainty 20 years ago, and now they are also bringing their partners on the global value chain to China.’ Said Weber. Most member firms are to stay after this pandemic, and the Jiangsu government have provided support with logistics, supply chain and visa application in this pandemic. Jiang Yifan, Deputy Director of Government Affairs in Reckitt Benckiser China thanked the Chinese government for their support in this pandemic and hoped that employees who had to work overtime to produce sanitizers can receive some bonus from the government, so companies can incentivize their employees to produce more medical supplies.  

In terms of external communications, Jiangsu is also a leader of the Belt and Road Initiative. Yinglai Zhang, Deputy Director, Hai’an Economic and Technological Development Zone, said that Haian maintained good communication with Italy and donated 50,000 masks to Mantova. Thus, a sustainable supply chain development is crucial for multinational firms to develop in China. Jens Ewert, Partner of Deloitte China, has been living in China for the past 20 years. Ewert is optimistic about the supply chain development in China. As the country gradually recovers from COVID-19, an open dialogue and a common approach is needed for future communication with Europe. ‘It is time to focus on regional approach to reduce supply chain dependency.’ Said Andreas Risch, Vice Chairman of European Chamber Nanjing Board. 

After the conference, most of the guests stayed and had a good time during the networking session. With light refreshments and snacks, they enjoyed a delightful evening at Fairmont.