Chair Election
This year, the Finance & Taxation Working Group is going through a major structural reorganization. After the reorganization, the independent local working groups in Beijing, Shanghai and South China will become a National Finance & Taxation Working Group. Three chapters will closely coordinate with each other for joint meetings and lobby actions.
The Finance & Taxation Working Group Chair and Vice Chairs play a crucial role in driving the working group, which includes a leadership role in the drafting of the Position Paper, communicating key messages to Chinese and European government authorities and steering working group meetings. The desired characteristics of a Chair and Vice Chairs are a senior industry representative with relevant industry expertise and government contacts who has the time and willingness to support the working group.
Following positions are vacant:
1) One Working Group Chair based in any of the Chapters that the WG is based in (Beijing, Shanghai or South China) to serve as the National Chair
Please note that in the context of the WG reorganization process where the number of WGs has been reduced from over 50 to 25, the position of national Chair will imply a bigger commitment than has previously been the case. It is expected that the national Chair acts as the ‘face’ of the Finance & Taxation WG in Beijing, Shanghai and South China, and has a profound insight in the main lobby issues in order to represent the WG during lobby activities, events and in the media. Since this WG is active in different locations, potential travel expenses - that cannot be reimbursed by the European Chamber - need to be taken into account when applying for this position. In his/her important task, the National Chair will receive the support from the respective Business Manager / Working Group Coordinator.
2) One Vice Chair based in Beijing, Shanghai or South China to serve as Vice Chair and Local Chair (a local Chair can only be based in the city where there is no national Chair)
3) Up to two Vice Chairs based in Beijing, Shanghai and South China respectively
Election rules:
The National Chair election (1) will take place first, thereafter the Vice Chair/Local Chair election (2), and finally the Vice Chair election (3). In case there are two or more candidates for the national Chair position, then the unsuccessful candidate(s) can run for Vice Chair/Local Chair or for Vice Chair. In case there are two or more candidates for the Vice Chair/Local Chair position, then the unsuccessful candidate(s) can run for Vice Chair.
Should you be interested in putting your name forward for election, please, firstly, read the attached Working Group Chairs’ Code of Conduct and Roles and Responsibilities documents. To apply, please send a short biography and motivation letter, stating whether you intend to run for Chair or Vice Chair to Ms. Catherine Wu at cwu@europeanchamber.com.cn for Beijing WG and to Mr. Max Merkle at mmerkle@europeanchamber.com.cn for Shanghai WG and to Ms. Anna Rudawska at arudawska@europeanchamber.com.cn by Monday, 18 April COB.
Position Paper 2016/2017
The Position Paper (PP) is the Chamber’s key lobbying document and is widely recognized by the Chinese and European governments, EU institutions, business associations and the media as the authoritative voice of EU business in China. It is used extensively for policy considerations, bilateral discussions, cooperation projects and background information. The value and importance of a well-written and well-represented Finance & Taxation PP cannot be overstated.
Please find attached the first draft of this year’s Finance & Taxation PP, so called ‘mini PP’. The mini PP is essentially a summary of the Key Recommendations we will hope to include in this year’s PP. If you have a KR in mind that you think should be included in this year’s PP, please use this opportunity to propose the KR. As this is the first of many drafts for this year’s position paper, there will be many opportunities to further discuss and propose changes to the PP. During the upcoming working group meeting on 15 April, we will discuss the content.
Tentative agenda:
- 15:30 – 16:00 Registration
- 16:00 – 17:00 Discussion on Position Paper 2016/2017
- 17:00 – 17:30 Chair & Vice Chairs Elections
We encourage as many of our members as possible to attend to have their say in the leadership and representation of the Working Group in the year ahead. If you would like to attend this meeting, please register here (BJ, SH, South China)or contact Ms. Catherine Wu at cwu@europeanchamber.com.cn for Beijing WG, Mr. Max Merkle at mmerkle@europeanchamber.com.cn for Shanghai WG, or Ms Anna Rudawska at arudawska@europeanchamber.com.cn by 14 April COB, stating whether you will attend in Beijing, Shanghai or South China.