Vice President Massimo Bagnasco Attends a Roundtable with Beijing Vice Mayor Yin Yong
2019-08-23 | All chapters
On 23rd August, Mr Massimo Bagnasco, vice president (VP) of the European Chamber, attended the Roundtable with Overseas Chambers of Commerce and Enterprises in Beijing, initiated by the Beijing Municipal Government. Mr Bagnasco also met with Mr Yin Yong, vice mayor of Beijing, in the Tongzhou office building of the Beijing Municipal Government. Other chambers of commerce and some foreign enterprise representatives were also present at the event.
Vice Mayor Yin noted that this year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China. He said China has made significant progress and experienced dramatic changes in that time; China’s poverty rate is now below one per cent and the country has become the largest economy in terms of purchasing power. Vice Mayor Yin said that foreign enterprises now value the Chinese market. He said, even while facing the trade friction uncertainties, China is still committed to the reform and opening-up policy and noted that many foreign enterprises have increased their investment. The vice mayor highlighted the many reform measures Beijing has implemented in the past year to optimise the business environment, such as shortening company registration time, simplifying the building permit approval process, and lowering financing costs.
During the event, Vice Mayor Yin also announced that a new, dedicated hotline in Beijing for enterprises, similar to Hotline 12345 in Beijing for citizens to raise concerns and complaints, will become operational in October this year. Vice Mayor Yin expressed hope the new enterprise hotline would be an effective channel to help the government to understand enterprises’ challenges. Mr Zhou Xu, director general of the Beijing Investment Promotion Service Centre, will be in charge of the hotline.
Additionally, Vice Mayor Yin stated that Beijing’s next stage of development will focus on continuing the opening-up in the service sector, building scientific innovation centre, and further optimizing the local business environment.
On behalf of the European Chamber, VP Bagnasco delivered a speech addressing concerns raised by member companies. These concerns include the exemption of certain non-cash benefits for foreign assignees on the individual income tax, fair and equal treatment of foreign enterprises in Beijing, and the lack of communication with the municipal government. VP Bagnasco also presented the European Chamber’s Business Confidence Survey 2019 and Beijing Position Paper to Vice Mayor Yin, who responded by saying that the advice of the European Chamber would be seriously considered by the government.