A round up of lobbying actions undertaken by the European Chamber during the month of February:

Meeting with Shenzhen Vice Mayor Chen Biao

Meeting with Shenzhen Vice Mayor

On 25^th February 2013, a European Chamber delegation met with Chen Biao, the Vice Mayor of Shenzhen Municipal government, along with other Shenzhen government officials. The delegation was led by Davide Cucino, President of the European Chamber, Adam Dunnett, Secretary General of the European Chamber, Holger Kunz, Chairman of the board of the European Chamber’s PRD Chapter and Francine Hadjisotiriou, General Manger of the European Chamber’s PRD Chapter. This important meeting marked the first direct official dialogue between the European Chamber’s PRD Chapter and the Shenzhen Municipal Government, following many years of close cooperation with Shenzhen government officials at different levels.

SCOFCOM 2013 Briefing on Shanghai’s Commerce and Investment

Shanghai Vice Mayor

The European Chamber was invited to attend the annual briefing hosted by the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce on 20^th February. Shanghai’s newly-elected Vice Mayor, Zhou Bo, delivered a speech to more than 400 people, including SCOFCOM and Shanghai government representatives, foreign Consulates, foreign Chambers of Commerce as well as foreign companies and representative offices. Shanghai’s commerce and investment climate in 2012 was reviewed and strategies and policy incentives for the upcoming year were outlined.

Position Paper presentation to the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, Guangdong Province (DOFTEC)

Shenzhen DOFTEC

The European Chamber met with leaders of the Department of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation of Guangdong Province (DOFTEC) on 26^th February in Guangzhou. The delegation was led by Adam Dunnett, Secretary General of the European Chamber and Holger Kunz, Chairman of the board of the European Chamber’s PRD Chapter. The meeting provided an opportunity to raise concerns of European businesses operating in the PRD to provincial government, which included IPR issues, customs regulations and general feedback on the business environment, and also to make some recommendations. During the meeting the delegation presented the European Business in China Position Paper 2012/2013 to Chen Yuehua, Deputy Director General of DOFTEC.

Other Lobby Activities

The European Chamber held bilateral meetings with Mauro Petriccione, Director for Asia and Latin America, DG Trade and Peter Berz, Head of Unit, Far East, DG Trade, in order to discuss the recent EU-China Economic and Trade Working Group Meeting (ETWG) and general EU-China relations. The ETWG is held once a year and alternates between Beijing and Brussels and aims to identify trade and investment priorities. Following the ETWG the European Commission debriefed members from the following working groups: Standards and Conformity; Healthcare Equipment; Logistics; Aviation; Cosmetics; Insurance; Banking and Securities; Legal and Competition; Construction; ICT; Finance and Taxation; IPR; and Maritime Transport. Members took the opportunity to discuss market access and operational issues faced by member companies operating in China.