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2009-03-30 | All chapters

European Commissioner Orban Visits European Chamber Beijing Office, Holds Discussions with Member Companies
European Chamber, 30th March 2009

Mr. Leonard Orban, European Commissioner for Multilingualism, visited the European Chamber’s Beijing office today for a meeting with Joerg Wuttke, President of the European Chamber, and representatives of several Chamber member companies providing language services in China.

On behalf of Chamber members, Joerg Wuttke briefed Commissioner Orban on the European Chamber’s lobbying activities as well as the current business environment and challenges for European companies in China.

Commissioner Orban introduced the EU’s policies in relation to multilingualism and language learning, which are designed to promote language and cultural exchanges and improve the efficiency of learning. He emphasized the importance of language and cultural integration for corporate development, and pointed out the need for improving education standards in both European and Chinese languages to reinforce mutual understanding.

During the meeting, representatives from Chamber members Alliance Française, Instituto Cervantes and Sino-Matters introduced their business development strategies in China, and also raised their concerns about the issues surrounding licence applications for language schools. Entry to China’s language service market is still limited for foreign organisations, while the market demand for high quality language courses is growing rapidly.

In this regard, Commissioner Orban expressed that the European Commission is aware of these concerns and would address this issue in meetings with its Chinese counterparts.