[Offline Only] European Chamber Annual Conference 2023: Regaining Economic Momentum in an Environment of De-Risking Go back »
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Time2023-12-12 | 14:00 - 18:10
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Venue:Signature Ballroom, Hilton Beijing
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Address:3F, Hilton Beijing, 1 Dong Fang Rd, Chaoyang District, Beijing
北京市朝阳区希尔顿酒店三层里程宫 -
Fee:Members: 500 |
Non Members: 800
Sponsors and partners
The normalisation of life in China after COVID management controls were lifted 12 months ago led many to think that a robust and swift economic recovery would follow. However, while it looks like the government’s official 2023 target of achieving around a five per cent growth rate will be met, a combination of economic challenges and policy developments have cast a shadow over the potential for a stronger economy in 2024 and beyond.
In China, consumer demand remains muted, the property market is still in the process of stabilising, and overall business confidence remains low. An increasing number of Chamber member companies are looking to alternative investment destinations to diversify and avoid excessive dependence on a single location; others are separating parts of their China operations from their global ones, to remain compliant with legislation in China and the rest of the world, as well as to guard against risks arising from geopolitical tensions. Some companies take a different approach, doubling down on their presence in China in view of the importance of their China activities to their global portfolio.
This is taking place at a time that the EU is trying to get its relationship with China back on solid ground. While it is encouraging that many high-level European officials have prioritised visits to China in 2023, to reconnect and resume important dialogues face-to-face, the EU is deeply concerned with its growing trade deficit with China, and the fact that European companies operating in the country continue to face market access barriers and unequal treatment. Looming overcapacity and producer price deflation in some industries in China is creating additional fears that companies are in for a prolonged slump and pressure on profitability.
Meanwhile, a debate has emerged over the concept of ‘de-risking’, a term first introduced by European Commission President Von der Leyen in March 2023. While from an EU perspective, de-risking entails taking a precise approach to reducing its critical dependencies on any one source, some commentators in China have accused the EU of becoming protectionist. At the same time, China has effectively been undertaking its own form of de-risking for nearly two decades, in an attempt to increase its self-reliance in many areas, even to the extent of achieving self-sufficiency in strategic industries.
Join us at this year’s European Chamber Annual Conference to hear from a host of experts—from the policy, business and advisory worlds—on China’s economic outlook for 2024, and to understand exactly what de-risking means, in China and the EU, and what the implications may be for companies operating in China.
Agenda
Host of Event: Adam Dunnett, Secretary General, European Chamber
13:30–14:00 Registration
14:00–14:20 Opening Speech by Jens Eskelund, President, European Chamber
14:20–14:40 Address by H.E. Jorge Toledo Albiñana, Ambassador of the Delegation of the European Union to China (EUD)
14:40–15:40 Panel I: China’s economic review and outlook
- ZhU Ning, Head of China, Brunswick
- HE Wei, China Economist, Gavekal Dragonomics
- SU Yue, Principal Economist of Access China/Asia, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)
- LI Ye, Vice President, Head of Corporate Affairs and Government Relations, Merck Holding (China) Ltd.
Moderator: Wendy Wu, Political Economy Editor, South China Morning Post
15:40–16:00 Coffee Break
16:00–17:00 Panel II: De-risking and Self-reliance – what lies ahead?
Video message from Partner of Chamber De-risking report
Markus Hermann, Co-Founder and Managing Director of China Marco Group (CMG)
- Frank Schmiedel, First Counsellor, Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Trade Section, EUD
- Stefan Bernhart, Vice President of the European Chamber
- Carlo Diego D’Andrea, Vice President of the European Chamber, Chair of the Shanghai Chapter
- Soeren Meyer, Vice Chair of Information and Communications Technology Working Group, European Chamber
Moderator: Mariann Nagy, Policy and Communications Manager, European Chamber
17:00-18:00 Panel III: Geopolitics in 2024 – What to expect from EU-China relations and wider developments
- Jörg Wuttke, Chief Representative China, BASF (China) Co., Ltd.
- William (Bill) Klein, Consulting Partner, FGS Global; Former Acting Deputy Chief of Mission, US Embassy in Beijing
- XU Sitao, Chief Economist and Partner, Deloitte China
- Henry Wang, President and Founder of Center for China and Globalization (CCG)
Moderator: Jens Eskelund, President, European Chamber
18:00- 18:10 Concluding Remarks
The event follows the Chatham House rule and will be off the record.
Advisory Council Policy
Members of the Advisory Council may receive complimentary admission to Chamber seminars, conferences and factory visits up to two attendees per event. Additional participants will be charged at the member rate.
Advisory Council members will still be charged the standard member rate for participation in training courses and special events, such as gala balls, government appreciation dinners, or admission to corporate social events/tournaments.
For further information contact Luyang Syvänen lsyvanen@europeanchamber.com.cn
Terms & Conditions
Events have limited seating so to ensure your attendance we encourage advance online registration and payment. We cannot guarantee entry to anyone not registered in advance. A confirmation email with instructions on how to join the webinar will be sent to registrants who have paid.
- Members can pay via wechat QR code once registered.
- Non-members will receive an email with a payment code shortly.
Fapiao will be mailed to you within 5-10 working days after the event.
Cancellation Policy
If you cannot attend the event for which you have registered, please cancel your registration no later than one business day prior to the event. If you fail to notify us of your cancellation in a timely fashion, you will be charged for event costs.
To cancel you can: 1) email cdu@europeanchamber.com.cn, or 2) cancel online if you registered for the event through the website.
Speakers
Mr. Jorge Toledo Albiñana
After taking his Degree in Law and entering the Diplomatic School in Spain, Ambassador Toledo joined the Spanish Foreign Service in 1989. Since then, except for three years in Senegal, where he was Ambassador of Spain from 2008 to 2011, his career has been devoted mostly to European Union Affairs. Among others, he was Spanish Secretary of State for the EU and European Affairs. In Asia, he has been posted to India and Japan before arriving to China in September 2022 as the Ambassador of the European Union.
Ambassador Toledo strongly believes in the European integration and that only together can EU Member States have a meaningful relation and dialogue with a strong world power as China.
He is married and has two children.
Mr. Jens Eskelund
Jens Eskelund was born in 1970 in Aarhus, Denmark. He holds an MA in philosophy and has studied at University of Aarhus and University of Texas at Austin. He has also pursued studies in Chinese at Renmin University in Beijing. Coming to Beijing as a student in 1998, Jens Eskelund began his career in China as Commercial Officer at the Danish Embassy to China before taking on a position in marketing for Maersk Line in Beijing in 2000. He has since held positions as General Manager for Public Affairs for Maersk Line in China and later Director of Public Affairs for North Asia before assuming his present role as Chief Representative for Maersk in the Greater China Area and North-East Asia. Primary focus areas comprise engaging government entities, institutions and trade associations on matters of policy, regulatory environment and business development on behalf of the companies within the Maersk Group.
Jens Eskelund is a former Chairman of the Danish Chamber of Commerce in China as well as the Vice President and Chair of Maritime Working Group of the European Chamber. Jens was elected as the President of European Chamber in May 2023.
Jens Eskelund is married and has two sons.
Prof. Ning Zhu
Zhu Ning is appointed as Senior Partner and Head of China at Brunswick Group. He was Oceanwide Chair Professor of Finance, Deputy Dean, National Institute of Financial Research, Tsinghua University, Co-director of the DBA/EMBA/EE programs and a Professor of Finance at Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance (SAIF), a faculty fellow at the Yale University International Center for Finance, and a Special-Term Professor of Finance at University of California, Davis and at Guanghua School of Management, Peking University.
Professor Zhu is an expert on behavioral finance, investments, corporate finance, and the Asian financial markets. He has published numerous articles in leading journals in the finance, economics, management and legal fields, including Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Management Science, Journal of Legal Studies, etc. Professor Zhu has also written or co-authored several books, including most recently "China's Guaranteed Bubble".
Mr. Wei He
Wei He tracks Chinese monetary and fiscal policy for Gavekal Dragonomics. He previously worked at Financial Times Confidential, where he wrote on a wide range of macroeconomic and financial topics, as well as Market News International. A Beijinger, he has a BA in finance from Peking University, and an MA in politics from New York University.
Ms. Yue Su
Yue Su is the Principal Economist of Access China/Asia at The Economist Intelligence Unit. She is a frequent guest in national and international media, providing critical insight into China’s economic trends and fast changing policy environment.
Yue leads The EIU’s China research team, which provides economic and political coverage of China and has a strong client-facing element, both in terms of interacting with global clients looking at China and Chinese clients looking for a global perspective.
Yue joined the EIU in 2013. She has deep knowledge of China’s economic data and policy environment, and has played an instrumental role in shaping our forecasts and analysis for China at both the national and sub-national level. She also drives, for example, our recent successful calls on China’s GDP growth in the Covid-19 era and leads our coverage interpreting policies such as “common prosperity”, China’s 14th Five Year Plan etc. Yue has focused her research on subjects including China’s demographic trends, regional and industrial economics, infrastructure and Chinese ODI/Belt and Road Initiative.
During her time at The EIU she has contributed to several special reports, including the China Going Global Investment Index (2015 & 2017), Prospects and challenges on China’s “One Belt, One Road”: a risk assessment report and China’s supply-side structural reforms: progress and outlook. She has also acted as a consultant or advisor on several commissioned studies in the infrastructure field, such as on public-private partnerships in China and Asia.
Yue holds a doctorate in political economy from the Chinese Academy of Governance. Her research focused on the aid effectiveness of multilateral development banks and analysed the factors that might disrupt the investment returns of infrastructure projects. Before joining The EIU she worked as a local government civil servant in China. Yue holds a Masters of Economics from The University of Hong Kong.
Ms. Ye Li
Ms. Li Ye is leading the Merck China Corporate Affairs hub in support to all the three business sectors (healthcare, life science &
performance materials) of Merck in China since January 2018. The China hub is among the 3 regional corporate affairs hubs (Europe, the United States and China) of Merck KGaA global wide. She is the member of the leadership team of Merck global
corporate affairs and sits in the Country Council of Merck in China. In 2021, Li Ye has been certified as a Foreign High-Level Talent of Shunyi District “Wutong Project” in Beijing.
Ms. Li Ye is a veteran in corporate affairs and government relations for international companies with her 20+ years’ working experience. She joined Merck healthcare in Aug. 2013 responsible for the government relations and market access. Prior to that, she had been taking the management roles on government affairs, market access and strategic development in top international companies including Hoechst, GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer and AstraZeneca, etc. She went to Singapore as the Regional Market Access Lead in Bayer South East Asia in 2008. Later she became Regional Payer Capabilities Director and Global Pricing
and Market Access Director for Oncology at AstraZeneca’s Asia Pacific Office until she returned to China.
Li Ye graduated from University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, then she went to the Great Britain for further study. She obtained a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Westminster, London. She also holds a Diploma of Economic Evaluation and Assessment in Health from the University of York, UK. In 2016, Li Ye completed her Executive MBA study in Peking University National Development School in Beijing. She is now studying for a doctorate on financial management run by the National Development School of Peking University and Fordham University in the
United States.
As an opinion leader in the industry, Li Ye also holds the positions including：
- Vice Chair of the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment (CAEFI)
- Vice Chair of the China Pharmaceutical Industry Association (CPIA)
- National Chair of Research and Development Working Group, European Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC)
Ms. Wendy Wu
Wendy Wu is the editor of Political Economy with the South China Morning Post. Her journalism career spans more than a decade. Wendy joined the SCMP in 2015, covering diplomacy and economy. She was news editor of China Desk before leading the macro economy team.
Mr. Frank SCHMIEDEL
Since September 2019, Frank Schmiedel has been covering industrial policy and regulation, public procurement, entrepreneurship and SMEs at the Delegation of the European Union in Beijing. Previously he worked at the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Commission in Brussels. From 2007 to 2011, he was posted at the Delegation of the European Union in Washington D.C. Frank studied economics and political science in Germany and holds a Ph.D. in economics. Before joining the European Commission in 2001, Frank worked for multinational companies and as a management consultant.
Mr. Stefan Bernhart
Stefan Bernhart holds a position as Director at Volkswagen Group China and manages the company’s international stakeholder relations. Prior to joining Volkswagen, he served the Federal Foreign Office as Economic and Industry Counsellor at the German Embassy in Beijing from 2016 to 2020. His previous industry experience includes leadership positions with Mercedes-Benz (previously Daimler AG) at HQ in Stuttgart. Stefan Bernhart holds a M.A. in Intercultural Communication and Economics.
Stefan was elected as the Vice President of the European Chamber in May 2023.
Mr. Carlo Diego D’Andrea
Founder and Managing Partner of D’Andrea & Partners Legal Counsel, and Founder of DP Group.
Graduated in Law at the University of Teramo (Italy), he then subsequently obtained a Masters’ degree in Corporate Advisor at LUISS University in Rome and a Diploma in Chinese Studies at Nanjing Normal University and is a member of the Italian Bar Association.
Mr. D’Andrea arrived in China in 2005 and is fluent in Italian (mother tongue), English, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. He mainly deals with cross-border mergers and acquisitions, assistance in ODI/FDI and intellectual property rights.
He is also acting as National Vice President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.
Mr. Soeren Meyer
Soeren Meyer is the Vice Chair of Information and Communications Technology Working Group of the European Chamber.
Mr Meyer began his career as a Manager Accounting in Giesecke+Devrient GmbH from 2006 to 2008 and later a Controller in this German Company until 2009. He was appointed as the Vice President in BA International Inc. in 2010 before he held a position in Giesecke+Devrient Systems Canada Inc. as the Head of Regional Operations Controlling in the following 3 years since 2013 and then promoted as the Head of Global Operations Controlling in Giesecke+Devrient Mobile Security GmbH in 2017. Ever since 2019 to now, Soeren Meyer has been the Chief Financial Officer in Giesecke+Devrient(China) Technologies Co., Ltd.
Ms. Mariann Nagy
Mariann Nagy is a policy and communications manager at the European Chamber. In her role, she contributes to the Chamber’s reports and other publications and to the production of the Chamber’s two podcast series, China ShortCuts and China Dispatches. She is a sinologist by training, with a professional background in journalism and translation.
Mr. Jörg Wuttke
Jörg Wuttke is Chief Representative of BASF China, based in Beijing.
Jörg Wuttke was President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China from 2007 to 2010, 2014 to 2017 and again from 2019 to 2023. From 2001 to 2004 Mr. Wuttke was the Chairman of the German Chamber of Commerce in China.
Since its establishment in 2013, Mr. Wuttke is member of the Advisory Board of Germany’s foremost Think Tank on China, Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS), in Berlin. He lived in China for more than 30 years.
Mr. William (Bill) Klein
Former top U.S. diplomat and investment banker William "Bill" Klein joined FGS Global's Government Affairs, Policy & Advocacy practice as Consulting Partner in February 2022. Klein was a member of the United States Senior Foreign Service until 2021 and most recently served as the Acting Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. In this role, he represented the diplomatic, economic and security interests of the United States in China and advocated for the continuation of constructive dialogue with government officials, think tanks, academia and the private sector against the backdrop of dramatic changes in US-China relations. At FGS Global, Klein helps international corporates and investors assess geopolitical uncertainties and complexities and advises them on how to navigate political and regulatory environments at the national and global level. He is leading our geopolitical advisory on Ukraine and Russia matters.
Prior to joining the firm, he spent a total of over 20 years in the diplomatic service of the United States, representing its diplomatic, economic and security interests in China, Taiwan, Ukraine, Israel, India, Qatar and Washington, DC. Earlier, he built and led profitable capital markets teams for German banks in Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig.
Bill studied Economics at the Freie Universität Berlin and History and Mass Communication at the University of Utah. He is also a non-resident senior associate at the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC.
Mr. Sitao Xu
Xu Sitao is Chief Economist and Partner of Deloitte China, spearheading Deloitte's economic and industry research.
Prior to Deloitte, he was Chief Representative of China and EIU forecasting director at the Economist Group from 2004
to 2014. Sitao worked for MMS International of Standard and Poor’s Group in Singapore as the Economist for Indonesia, Korea and Thailand in 1995.
He joined Standard Chartered Bank as Regional Treasury Economist in 1996. From 2000 to 2002, he was Societe Generale’s Chief Economist for Asia. In 2003, he became the Head of Economics of ICBC (Asia).
Sitao has written for YaleGlobal Online, the Asian Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Caijing, Caixin and 21st Century Business Herald. He appears regularly on CNBC, Bloomberg, CCTV, and other TV shows as a commentator on China. He is on the Speaker Retainer Program for the Virginia-based CFA Institute and is often invited by leading MNCs to their board rooms, to present key issues on China.
Sitao holds a B.A. in Economics from Peking University, a M.A. in Economics from the University of Connecticut, and a M.S. in Finance from Boston College. He was a visiting scholar at Hoover Institution at Stanford University in 2012. He is also a guest professor at the School of Economics and Management of Tsinghua University. He has sat on the board of Forterra, a listed company in Singapore, Valin, a major steel companies which is partially owned by ArcelorMittal, Hisun, a technology company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and a joint venture between Bank of New York Mellon and Western Securities.
Dr. Henry Wang
Dr.Wang, Huiyao (Henry) is the Founder and President of Center for China and Globalization (CCG), a top independent global think tank in China. In February, 2015, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang appointed Dr. Wang as Counselor for China State Council. Dr. Wang is a well-known Chinese expert on China and globalization issues, on global migration, global talent, overseas Chinese, students, returnees and on Chinese firms going global and MNC in China; he is also a founder of several Chinese well-known overseas returnees organizations; a social entrepreneur and a top adviser to the Chinese government at both central and provincial levels as well as to international organizations and large enterprises.
He has a work life span over both Chinese and foreign governments, multinational executive and business entrepreneurs and academic circles. He has taught at Peking University, Tsinghua University, University of Western Ontario and was a visiting fellow at Brookings Institution and a senior fellow at Harvard Kennedy School. He is currently the Dean of Institute of Development of Southwestern University of Finance and Economics. He is on the Migration Advisory Board of International Organization of Migration (IOM), a member of Yale University Asia Development Council, an advisor for Laureate Education Group, a member of advisory board of Richard Ivey School of Business in Asia, a Steering Committee Member of Metropolis International, a policy fellow of IZA and an advising member to the board of Association of Executive Search Consultants in New York. He is also a frequent speaker at different international forums and often interviewed by various influential global media.
Mr. Adam Dunnett
Adam’s career has focussed on trade & investment promotion, advocacy and association management. As the European Chamber’s secretary general, he is responsible for the overall implementation of its objectives, visibility, membership and advocacy activities across its 7 chapters and 9 offices in China (Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Nanjing,
Shanghai, Shenzhen, Shenyang and Tianjin).
Adam first joined the Chamber in 2006. He served first as the senior business manager, later as Beijing general manager, and since 2013 as the secretary general.
Previously, he worked a commercial officer at the Canadian Embassy in Beijing, 2000-2004 and in 2012 he worked at APCO, a consulting firm, as deputy managing director. Since 2012 he serves as a board member and a rotating chair of the EU SME Centre. From 2014-2017 and again from 2023 he serves as vice chair of the European Business Organisation Worldwide Network, a legally registered NGO that represents European advocacy organisations based in over 50 countries.
Adam holds dual British and Canadian citizenship. He holds an M.A.in International Development
from the International University of Japan, and B.A in foreign languages from the University of
Victoria.