European Chamber’s Conference Call with Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen Joined by Multiple Departments on COVID-19 Impacts to FIEs

2020-03-13 | All chapters

On the afternoon of 13th March, Vice Minister (VM) Wang Shouwen, Ministry of Commerce, People’s Republic of China (PRC), and Deputy China International Trade Representative, hosted a more than 2 hours cross-departmental conference call with the European Chamber's Advisory Council members and Desks representatives, responding to the work and production resumption issues faced by foreign-invested companies impacted by the COVID-19 epidemic outbreak.

European Chamber President Jörg Wuttke, together with twenty CEOs, presidents and vice presidents (VPs) of the Chamber’s Advisory Council member companies, joined the call. Alongside VM Wang and representatives from MOFCOM, officials from eight other government departments - the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Medical Products Administration, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the Ministry of Transportation and the State Taxation Administration - also attended the meeting.

Representatives of the Chamber outlined their concerns on the difficulties of production resumption, supply chain disruptions, inconsistent policy implementation by governments at different levels, the lack of labour due to self-quarantine policies and the interrupted flow of people from region to region (both domestically and overseas), and financial challenges, among others, while also highlighting their expectations on relevant supporting policies especially on China’s economy stimulation. Representatives of the relevant government departments gave concrete and informative responses on these concerns.

VM Wang stated that specific issues or cases shall be shared with attending parties by telephone or written form after the meeting. He further emphasised that opening-up in the foreign investment sector will continue and all supportive policies during and after COVID-19 period will be equally enjoyed by domestic and foreign-invested enterprises. VM Wang stated that China is and will remain a reliable market for foreign investors. Now the public can get direct access to all central governments’ policies with relevance to COVID-19 on designated pages on www.gov.cn and www.mofcom.gov.cn.

The European Chamber and member companies greatly appreciated the exchange with the central government. This kind of productive dialogue with Chinese authorities that will strengthen foreign-invested enterprises’ confidence in investing and operating in China. The battle against the COVID-19 and return to a full functioning economy can be facilitated through such collaborative efforts by government and business.