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2013-11-21 | Beijing

EU-China Business Summit

 

On 21st November 2013, the EU-China Summit co-organised together with the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) was held at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

The Business Summit was attended by leading executives from both European and Chinese industry and included speeches from the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, the European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and the European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.

Organized on an alternating basis at sites in Europe and China, the Business Summit is an annual dialogue that brings together industry to discuss business and trade issues affecting the world’s second largest economic cooperation. Today’s Business Summit, which was held concurrently with the EU-China Political Summit and the EU-China Urbanisation Forum, brought together 700 participants from European and Chinese industry and associations. Alongside the speeches from the top political leadership of both the European Union and China, it included speeches and presentations from global CEOs and high-level executives of major European and Chinese companies around the theme of restructuring for sustainable growth.

Held just a few days after the release of the ambitious Decision of the Third Plenum, the three lively plenary sessions of today’s Business Summit provided a good opportunity for European and Chinese business to discuss together how industry could cooperate and contribute to some of China’s and Europe’s needs. These included driving innovation, investment for the good of society and global economic integration.

European Union Chamber of Commerce in China President Davide Cucino said, “This was the third and final time I had the honor of speaking at the Plenary Session of the EU-China Business Summit as President of the European Chamber. At the first Business Summit I attended there still didn’t seem to be consensus about the urgent need for reforms for China to accomplish the economic rebalancing that had been laid out in the 12th Five-Year Plan. Now, in the Decision of the Third Plenum released last week, China has a bold blueprint and the political will for reforms. This Decision should give more opportunities for European industry in China, so the mood at the Business Summit is positive and there have been dynamic exchanges about how industry can contribute to China’s economic and societal development.”

Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Wan Jifei said, “China-EU economic and trade ties are an integral part of the China-EU comprehensive and strategic partnership. The EU-China Business Summit, as the top-level dialogue platform for Chinese and European business communities, has witnessed a glorious growth trajectory from both sides during the past nine years. The presence of the highest-level Chinese and European Union officials at the Business Summit attests to the great importance that is attached to scaling up China-EU economic and trade co-operation. In a globalized economy, the business communities from both sides should adopt a holistic and forward-looking perspective, and address challenges that arise from the new context with an open, pragmatic and flexible attitude so as to elevate the China-EU economic and trade partnerships to a whole new standard.”