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2006-05-09 | All chapters

Chamber Devoted to Promoting Co-operation
Te Kan, China Daily, 9th May 2006

When first established in Beijing in 2000, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China had one office and 51 founding members.

Since then, it has expanded rapidly along with European investment and China's development. Now there are six offices nationwide with a seventh on its way.

European business operators benefit from the Chamber's platform in Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Tianjin, Chengdu and in Guangzhou since April. Shenyang will constitute the seventh chapter, which will strengthen the voice of European business in Northeast China.

The European Chamber represented approximately 500 companies when Secretary-General Giorgio Magistrelli began his tenure in 2004, and now represents more than 800.

During his time, the Chamber has reinforced its working groups, increased its visibility, developed new partnerships and carried out new projects.

The figure is expected to continue its dramatic rise as a result of the Chamber's consolidation, as well as the increasing involvement of European companies.

"The chamber can legitimately claim to be a privileged channel representing a bridge between European businesses in China and the Chinese Government," Magistrelli said.

The core of the Chamber is represented by working groups, which gather members from different industries and sectors to provide a professional forum to discuss issues that affect their work.

Currently the European Chamber has 28 working groups, divided into three main categories: horizontal issues, trade in goods, and trade in services.

They range from automotive to banking, from intellectual property rights to human resources.

The growth of the Chamber is reflected in the continuous diversification of its working groups.

Recently established groups reflect the changing business environment in China, such as groups active in the fields of sourcing, operations, conformity assessment and a platform for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Soon working groups on health care and dredging will be set in motion.

As traditional sectors boom, new areas of interest emerge in the Chinese scene and the Chamber is actively involved there as well.

The task forces on the Clean Development Mechanism and the supply chain have been recently established to closely monitor the development of these new concerns where both Chinese and foreign operators are involved.

The European Chamber's expertise and its internal dynamism enable it to develop new and substantial projects.

The major outcome of these working groups is the production of the yearly position paper that includes the recommendations of each group and is submitted to the Chinese government and the European Commission, and is presented to local and international media.

Over the coming months, the chamber will use its "Business Confidence Survey" to re-evaluate how European operators judge their performance in the Chinese market.

Large-scale charitable events are also scheduled. This month, the Chamber will host the "second European Chamber Ball" in Shanghai, and in October the "Gala Dinner" will take place in Beijing.

Following a meeting with Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai and a proposal by the Ministry of Commerce, the European Chamber will hold an honourary dinner in early summer to present the results of the "Charity Initiative," which will contribute to a poverty-relief programme in Shanxi Province.

These projects prove the chamber's continuous and ever-developing commitment to social responsibility. This is mirrored by the launch this year of a "Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Handbook."

Born out of the growing interest in CSR, the handbook investigates concept evolution, companies' practices and their impact.

These initiatives present the Chinese Government and companies with the best European practices in terms of corporate governance, labour management, environmental engagement and community response.

(China Daily page16, click here to view the article on China Daily's website)