Globalisation Can Have A Future: Annual Conference Review Go back »

2019-12-03 | Beijing

Globalisation Can Have A Future: Annual Conference Review

The European Chamber Annual Conference took place on 3rd December attended by over 150 guests. Ambassador Nicolas Chapuis called for more openness and more reciprocity from China during his speech. Mr Long Yongtu delivered the keynote speech and stated that globalisation still has a future, as the driving forces of science and technology and market force are still strong, in spite of some countries increased trade and investment protection and the subsequent disruption of global supply and production chain. Mr Long also advocated that globalisation should benefit all market actors equally.

At the first panel discussion on the disruptive retreat of globalisation, panelists discussed China’s role in promoting globalisation, China’s new paradigm to interact with the world, the importance of trust in international relations, the impact of the US-China trade war, opportunities for the EU to work together with China on common grounds, and the relation between globalisation and increasing inequality.

The second panel covered a wide range of issues related to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the EU’s Connectivity Plan. Representing a wide range of industries, panellists discussed their degree of participation in the BRI and the often limited role which they are allowed to play in BRI-related projects. Panelists also covered the ongoing and potential impacts of the BRI on global markets, supply chains, and competition, as well as the ensuing opportunities and challenges for companies before shift to the EU-side, and the need for the EU Connectivity Plan to be realised in a timely manner.

At the third panel discussion on cooperation and competition between Europe and China, panelists discussed the activities of Chinese companies in European procurement bids as well as cooperation opportunities in fields like the finance sector and climate policy. Additionally, the strengths and weaknesses of China in the global economy were addressed. Strengths include the sheer size, the still growing economy and China’s ability to immediately mobilise necessary resources to develop one specific area so that it would become almost impossible to compete globally. However, a major weakness is China’s inexperience in dealing with risk and crises.