Dear Working Group Member,
The European Chamber is pleased to invite you to this year’s ICT Working Group Chair elections and Position Paper discussion, whichwill be held in our Beijing and Shanghai offices on Thursday 30 March, 2017, from 11h to 13h.
If you would like to attend the meeting in Beijing, please register with (Ms) Xiaowen Ma at xwma@europeanchamber.com.cn
If you would like to attend the meeting in Shanghai, please register with (Mr) Max Merkle at mmerkle@europeanchamber.com.cn
At this meeting, we will have a discussion on the ICT Position Paper 2017/2018. In order to prepare in advance and better structure the discussion, we would really appreciate it if you could send us your input by Wednesday 29 March, COB.
As you may know, the Position Paper 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 ICT Position Paper cannot be overstated. Please see attached the ICT Position Paper 2016/2017 as well as a summary of major developments in the sector from late 2016 to 2017 for your reference (Cybersecurity-related concerns will be included in the Cybersecurity Position Paper). The next working group meeting is aimed at targeting the main key recommendations of the ICT Position Paper 2017/2018 and spotting the lead pens.
On this note, an introduction to the EU project - Advance EU Access to Financial Incentives for Innovation will be given during the meeting. The project is a key action initiated by the EU as part of a monitoring of the effective implementation of the EU-China agreement to provide reciprocity for European entities applying for Chinese research and innovation funding in China, vis-a-vis Chinese applicants. It will support the Key Recommendation 3 in the 2016/2017 ICT Position Paper in terms of the European accessibility to Chinese national research and innovation funding programmes.
In addition, we will host the 2017/2018 ICT Chair elections. The 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. Previous participation in the Working Group is essential.The maximum duration of Chair or Vice Chair of a Group is three consecutive years. Candidates are only eligible for Chair or Vice Chair positions if he/she is physically based in China. Only Corporate members are eligible for Chair and Vice Chair positions.
The ICT Working Group is going to elect one Chair and three Vice Chairs. Per an earlier email, the following candidates have decided to put their names forward:
1) National Chair
Michael Chang, Head of Industry Environment APAC, Technology & Innovation, Nokia
2) Beijing Vice Chair
Caroline Chen, Head of Business Development, Deutsche Telekom
3) Shanghai Chair
Isabelle Hajjar, General Counsel & Director of Admin Services for Pivot88
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.
Tentative agenda:
11:00 – 11:10 Opening remarks
11:10 – 11:30 Elections
11:30 – 12:00 Introduction to EU Project - Advance EU Access to Financial Incentives for Innovation
12:00 – 12:40 Discussion on Position Paper 2017/2018 (appointment of the lead pens and drafting of the key recommendations)
12:40 – 13:00 Discussion on upcoming Working Group activities