European Chamber Business Delegation Visit to Qingdao
2023-04-20 | Beijing, Shandong
On 20th and 21st April, European Chamber President Jörg Wuttke and Vice President (VP) Carlo D'Andrea led a business delegation to visit Qingdao, Shandong Province. The delegation met with government officials including Mr Lu Zhiyuan, deputy party secretary of Shandong Province and party secretary of Qingdao, Mr Zhao Haozhi, mayor of Qingdao, and Mr Zhao Shengcun, vice mayor of Qingdao. The visit was widely reported by media, including Qingdao TV, Qingdao Daily and Phoenix, among others.
On the morning of 20th April, the European Chamber delegation participated in the Qingdao-European Union (EU) Trade and Economic Cooperation Dialogue, themed ‘Europe Meets Qingdao, Creating Better Future Together’. Several director-general-level officials from Qingdao Government and the Department of European Affairs of the Ministry of Commerce attended and had face-to-face exchanges with the Chamber delegation.
President Wuttke started his speech to the dialogue by recalling his personal connection to the city of Qingdao, before going on to talk about trade between the EU and China. He introduced the Chamber’s annual European Business in China Position Paper, highlighting the 967 recommendations from diverse working groups in the most recent edition, and how they could help improve the business environment in China and attract global investment. President Wuttke also mentioned the challenges for EU companies—in particular small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)—to access renewable energy in China.
VP D'Andrea introduced the Chamber’s Carbon Neutrality Action (CNA) initiative: "For a long time, the European Chamber has been advocating China-EU cooperation in the field of decarbonisation. European companies have long-term experience in studying relevant policies in their own markets, and there are many technical initiatives that can become the basis for strengthening cooperation between China and the EU. The European Chamber and our more than 1,700 members are eager to help China achieve its 2030 and 2060 goals, and we look forward to working with the Chinese Government and Chinese business enterprises to overcome these challenges and to support China accelerate [forward] on its journey to carbon neutrality.”
Mr Huang Xiaojun, national chair of the Environment Working Group, and Ms Amy Niu, national vice chair of the Energy Working Group, introduced their working group priorities and their company practices in CNA respectively.
Representatives from several member companies shared insights on their business in China and major achievements so far, noted their previous interactions with the Qingdao Government and gave recommendations on how to improve business-government cooperation. Other representatives expressed their wishes and expectations for local development opportunities.
Mr Zhao Shengcun, vice mayor of Qingdao, concluded the dialogue by welcoming European enterprises to further invest in Qingdao, in particular the real economy, based on win-win collaboration.
Before the appreciation lunch for the Chamber hosted by Mayor Zhao Haozhi got underway, Mr Lu Zhiyuan, deputy party secretary of Shandong Province and party secretary of Qingdao, met with the delegation.
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