As a rule, most European companies intending to operate in China tend to first look at cities like Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou (also known as tier 1 cities) for business opportunities. Until recently, relatively little notice had been given to the urban centres that are actually poised to lead China’s economic growth, the ‘other tiers’. With the shift in the Chinese economy towards consumption and the increase in the incomes and purchase power of the residents of non-tier 1 cities, these metropolises – roughly 170 of which have more than one million inhabitants – constitute fertile fields of development for well-informed companies with the necessary knowledge on how to tap on these opportunities.

The EU SME Centre, the European Union Chamber of Commerce and Accesspath are delighted to invite you to join our Inter-Chamber Working Group Meeting in order to discuss the challenges and opportunities for European companies – more concretely SMEs – in the ‘other tiers’. Ms. Sabrina Zhang, Partner at Dezan Shira & Associates China, will provide an overview of the current business environment in these urban centres. Mr. Jurriaan Meyer, General Manager of SRCC Transit Technology Co. Ltd., will afterwards talk about the experience of his company, a European enterprise operating in a non-tier 1 city.

The Working Group meeting will take place on the 8^th of June from 15:00 to 17:00 in No. 40 Xiaoyun Road, Air China Century Towers, Podium building 5 Floor, Beijing, courtesy of KASO.

Tentative Agenda

Speakers

Sabrina Zhang

Sabrina Zhang, CPA, is the China National Tax Partner at Dezan Shira & Associates China offices. Sabrina is experienced in the fields of tax planning, corporate structuring, and accounting & financing issues relating to foreign invested enterprises. She advises international investors in China on tax matters on a national basis. Sabrina has over 18 years of experience in accounting, auditing and tax advisory services to both international businesses in China and large domestic corporations. She joined Dezan Shira & Associates in 2001 and was made an equity partner in 2007.

Sabrina is also an in-demand speaker at international events on legal, tax and financial issues in China. She was bestowed the Star Speaker Award by Bloomberg BNA in 2014, an accreditation given only to the top 5% of speakers who present at Bloomberg's international events and conferences.

Sabrina earned her first bachelor's degree in Accounting from China, and a master's degree in Commerce at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Sabrina has been qualified as a Chinese Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1997, and she joined CPA Australia as associate member from 2005.

Jurriaan Meyer

Of Dutch-Austrian origin, and educated in the USA and Switzerland, during twenty years in sales, operations and general management roles, Jurriaan Meyer has been working across traditional and emerging industries – from transport and logistics, automotive and IoT to pay media, online marketing and e-commerce. Jurriaan lives and works in China since 2008 and has mastered Mandarin as a business language (HSK 5 level).

Currently based in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province, Jurriaan is General Manager of SRCC Transit Technology Co. Ltd. This Sino-Dutch joint venture produces propulsion and safety systems as well as cloud-based “Internet of Trains” technology for urban public transport. SRCC designs, delivers state of the art technology and tailor-made solutions for metro, tram, light bus/rail and monorail to Greater China where many cities have urban transport construction plans in the next decade.

With his own consultancy, Bridge2East, Jurriaan helps enterprises and governmental organizations in East and West to build the strategies and partnerships to prosper beyond their home markets.

Location

Contact