Meeting with MOST Vice Minister Cao Jianlin

On 14^th October, Chamber President Davide Cucino, and other Chamber representatives, met with Vice Minister Cao Jianlin from the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). President Cucino presented the key recommendations from the Position Paper 2013/2014, focusing on international sustainable growth and structural reform, with particular emphasis on the internationalisation of standards, access to funds, as well as limitation of catalogues.

President Cucino thanked the Minister for MOST’s continued support and expressed the Chamber’s intentions to contribute to China’s 2020 innovation targets. He also mentioned the Chamber’s participation in the EU-China Summit, the Urbanisation Forum and the Innovation Dialogue.

Meeting with Commissioner, Legislative Affairs Commission, NPC

On 14^th October, European Chamber representatives met with Commissioner Li Shishi and a delegation from the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People’s Congress (NPC). During the meeting, President Davide Cucino gave a briefing on the Chamber and introduced its participation in the NPC’s previous legislative activities. Commissioner Li and his team appreciated the Chamber’s feedback on the Law of the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Consumers and the Trademark Law. Comments submitted by the Chamber have been carefully reviewed and reflected in the final version of both laws. The NPC welcomes more working-level dialogues with the Chamber.

Meeting with Assistant Minister Bian Zhenjia, CFDA

On 18^th October, a Chamber delegation, led by President Davide Cucino, presented the Position Paper 2013/2014 to Assistant Minister Bian Zhenjia of the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA). During the discussion, President Cucino reviewed previous cooperation between the Chamber and CFDA and shared members’ appreciation of both the CFDA and the Assistant Minister. Representatives from the Agriculture, Food and Beverage, Cosmetics, Health Care Equipment and Pharmaceutical working groups brought up sectoral issues, which were responded to during the meeting and afterwards through correspondence. Both parties agreed to further enhance cooperation and communication.

Other Lobby Activities

Throughout the month of October, Eduardo Morcillo, Vice President of the Chamber, presented the Position Paper to various officials in Spain. The Chamber received positive feedback from government officials about the Position Paper.

On 9^th October, Chamber representatives met with representatives from the China Centre for Urban Development (CCUD) to discuss the EU-China Exhibition on Urban Development 2013 and a potential visit to Shanghai Baoshan District. During the meeting, Ms Liu Yue briefed Chamber representatives on the latest developments, such as the list of participating cities, side event updates and European exhibitors (seven Chamber members have already secured booths and more companies are under discussion). Ms Liu also expressed gratitude to Chamber’s support on expo delivery and CCUD’s willingness to work further with the European Chamber on other joint initiatives in the near future.