Breakfast Seminar with Beijing Vice Mayor Lu Hao Go back »

2006-12-18 | Beijing

Breakfast Seminar with Beijing Vice Mayor Lu Hao

15th December - The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China was delighted to welcome Vice Mayor of the Beijing Municipality, Lu Hao, to speak on the topic of investment in Beijing at a breakfast seminar.

Invest Beijing: Beijing Municipality and European Union Chamber of Commerce Forum was held at The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel, Beijing, and guests included a number of Beijing Municipal Government officials and leaders of industry. Representatives of the European business community in Beijing attended the event both to hear Mr. Lu Hao speak and use the opportunity to pose questions. After breakfast, Mr. Lu addressed the audience to give his impressions and opinions of the investment environment in Beijing.

The Vice Mayor’s speech concerned many current and future investment opportunities in Beijing. Mr. Lu began by outlining the background to Beijing’s economic development and pointed out that last year’s per capita GDP rose to over $5,000. Mr. Lu proceeded to discuss the future of investment in Beijing. According to the 11th Five-Year Plan, priority will be given to high-end industries and companies such as Mercedes-Benz and Nokia. Mr. Lu Hao also predicted an increase in the number of foreign banks with a presence in China and Beijing in particular. Mr. Lu touched the development of the Bing Hui Nu area of Tianjin. He stressed that this development should not be viewed as a threat to Beijing but as an opportunity to strengthen the whole region. He also looked towards an expansion of the creative and cultural industry. The Vice Mayor suggested that Beijing has a long-term future of sustainable growth.

Furthermore, Mr. Lu argued that the Beijing Olympics are not the only driving force behind Beijing’s economy. In Beijing the service industry has grown rapidly, Beijing currently has a real estate market worth 500 billion RMB and has emerged as an important center for trading goods worldwide. In short, Mr. Lu Hao’s speech gave an excellent impression of the investment environment in Beijing and a number of participants were keen for specific information.

Invest Beijing concluded with the Vice Mayor answering questions from the floor on a number of concerns including investment for pharmaceutical research and development, environmental issues and support for the arts. Mr. Lu ended the forum on a high note by reminding the audience that the World Bank rated Beijing within the top ten international cities for investment. The audience received the Vice Mayor’s words very well and he was complimented on his delivery style and tone. This event was an enlightening opportunity to learn about the investment environment from a key-player in local government.

Invest Beijing was an interesting forum for both those in the Beijing Municipal Government and members of the Beijing business community. The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China looks forward to many more such forums in the future, which allow our members the opportunity to engage with high-level government officials.