European Chamber President speaks at a panel discussion with the Prime Minister of Belgium

2024-01-11 | All chapters

On 11th January, European Chamber President Jens Eskelund delivered a keynote speech and participated in a panel discussion at an event chaired by Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo on occasion of his visit to China. 

After Prime Minister de Croo's opening remarks, President Eskelund provided an overview of the key economic, policy and regulatory trends in China and their impact on the operations of European industry in the country. Some of the topics he covered included the China's fragile economic rebound in 2023, as well as the ongoing tension between a more security-oriented policy approach and the various measures rolled out with the goal of attracting foreign investment and supporting private businesses. President Eskelund also commented on China's long-standing expansive approach to self-reliance through, among others, industrial policy -- which had a negative spillover such as growing overcapacity in areas like electric vehicles. President Eskelund shared his hope that EU policymakers would continue to address imbalances in the bilateral relationship, keep a narrow and targeted approach to de-risking and cooperate with China in areas of common interest. 

President Eskelund's speech was followed by a panel discussion where senior industry representatives from various sectors shared their views on the current business environment in China, the key challenges and opportunities in their respective industries and how European companies were navigating these, and finally recommendations for both companies and policymakers.