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

The European Chamber welcomed representatives from the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission, Shanghai Commission of Commerce and the Shanghai Information Centre to its Shanghai office on 1^st March. This meeting served as an opportunity for the Chamber to share its perspectives on market access barriers that its member companies are faced with in China. The Chamber delegation consisted of Energy Chair Henry Hu, Environment Vice Chair François Jenny, Construction Vice Chair Martin Zhao and PCR Working Group representative Thomas Shao, in addition to Shanghai Chamber General Manager Ioana Kraft and her Government Affairs colleagues Christine Ren and Bettina Buck.

Shanghai DRC meeting

A European Chamber delegation led by Jaspal Channa met the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on 6^th March to discuss general cooperation and the possibility of organising a joint seminar between the GAC and the Chamber’s Aerospace Working Group. GAC agreed to the organisation of the seminar and agreed to send experts and officials from relevant departments. In addition to the workshop in April the Chamber also proposed to organise regular workshops in the future with GAC led by other Working Groups such as Logistics and Maritime Transport. During the meeting representatives from various GAC departments introduced their work priorities for 2013 as well as upcoming regulations.

Secretary General Adam Dunnett received officials from Beijing Municipal Commission of Commerce (BMCC) at the Chamber’s Beijing office on 18^th March. The meeting commenced with a general introduction to the Chamber given by Adam. BMCC then briefed the Chamber on a transfer of responsibilities from CCPIT to the newly established Headquarters Economy Development Division within BMCC. Previously CCPIT was responsible for administrative approval and management of chambers of commerce and other foreign associations, this responsibility now falls under the remit of BMCC. The meeting concluded with both sides agreeing to strengthen future communication and cooperation between the Chamber and BMCC.

On 21st March, the European Chamber organised a seminar with the Deputy Director-General of DG Competition Bernd Langeheine. The seminar took the form of a discussion with European Chamber members of the Legal & Competition Working Group. During the discussion, Mr Langeheine explained DG Competition’s efforts to support the development of a level playing field for business. He also focused on DG Competition’s dialogues in the area of antitrust and mergers policy with NDRC, SAIC and Mofcom. Members used this opportunity to give recommendations for the development of both EU and Chinese regulatory environment.

The 52^nd Chengdu Symposium of Enterprises with Foreign Investment was hosted by Chengdu Municipal People’s Government and organised by Chengdu Investment Promotion Bureau on 28^th March. Li Kunxue, Deputy Party Secretary of the Chengdu Municipality, welcomed Paul Sives, acting Chairman of the Chamber’s Southwest China Chapter, to learn about the recent concerns and problems encountered by European Chamber member companies in Chengdu, and to listen to suggestions on relevant government services.