The normalisation of life in China after COVID management controls were lifted 12 months ago led many to think that a robust and swift economic recovery would follow. However, while it looks like the government’s official 2023 target of achieving around a five per cent growth rate will be met, a combination of economic challenges and policy developments have cast a shadow over the potential for a stronger economy in 2024 and beyond.

In China, consumer demand remains muted, the property market is still in the process of stabilising, and overall business confidence remains low. An increasing number of Chamber member companies are looking to alternative investment destinations to diversify and avoid excessive dependence on a single location; others are separating parts of their China operations from their global ones, to remain compliant with legislation in China and the rest of the world, as well as to guard against risks arising from geopolitical tensions. Some companies take a different approach, doubling down on their presence in China in view of the importance of their China activities to their global portfolio.

• 2023-12-12 | 14:00 - 18:10
• Signature Ballroom, Hilton Beijing

As one of the major annual events of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, the Cybersecurity Conference has been held for six consecutive years since 2016, becoming a well-recognised industry event on cybersecurity and data compliance for foreign companies operating in Chinese market, due to its focus on legislative developments and interpretation of relevant regulations.

A number of cybersecurity-related regulations have been published and implemented over the past year, including the Measures for Cross-border Data Transfer Security Assessments, Measures for the Standard Contract for the Outbound Transfer of Personal Information, the Personal Information Protection Certification Regime and the Interim Measures on the Administration of Generative Artificial Intelligence Services. Of particular note, in August 2023, the State Council released its Opinions on Further Optimising the Foreign Investment Environment and Increasing Efforts to Attract Foreign Investment, and in September, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued a draft Provisions on Regulating and Promoting Cross-border Data Transfers, which aims to adjust the current regulatory framework for outbound data flow, sending positive signals on encouraging foreign investment and promoting cross-border data transfer in a safe and orderly manner.

• 2023-11-30 | 14:00 - 17:30
• Zoom/ European Chamber Office Beijing

Faced with an increasingly unstable geopolitical and economic environment, industrial policy has been inserted as a core component in the agendas of the world’s largest three economies – the United States (US), China, and the European Union (EU). These strategies and regulations on renewable and low-carbon solutions, raw materials and technologies of the future are likely to result in profound implications on the global supply and value chains while reshaping entire industries.

What is the global geopolitical and trade outlook look like amid this global industrial strategy race? What are the implications of the varying policy measures on the strategies of multinational companies? As the world is seemingly moving away from globalisation, how will the elevation of industrial strategies impact the liberalisation of global trade?

Faced with the above and further related questions, the European Chamber launched an event series—Battling it out - Decoding the Global Industrial Strategy Race—to bring members a comprehensive understanding on the industrial strategies adopted by the world’s top three superpowers and their implications on both state and industry players.

• 2023-11-10 | 12:30 - 14:00
• Wang Fu Ballroom II

Faced with an increasingly unstable geopolitical and economic environment, industrial policy has been inserted as a core component in the agendas of the world’s largest three economies – the United States (US), China, and the European Union (EU). These strategies and regulations on renewable and low-carbon energy technologies, raw materials and technologies of the future are likely to result in profound implications on the global supply and value chains while reshaping industries especially high-tech sector such as semiconductors.

What is the global geopolitical and trade outlook look like amid this global industrial strategy race? What are the implications of the varying policy measures on the strategies of multinational companies? As the world is seemingly moving away from globalisation, how will the elevation of industrial strategies impact the liberalisation of global trade?

• 2023-11-03 | 15:00 - 16:45
• Zoom/ European Chamber Office Beijing

On 13th August, China’s State Council released the Opinions of the State Council on Further Optimising the Foreign Investment Environment and Increasing Efforts to Attract Foreign Investment (Opinions). The European Chamber has stated that the 24 points contained in the Opinions could go a long way towards improving business confidence if they are implemented in a timely, coordinated and consistent manner. The publication of detailed implementation guidelines will be an extremely important part of this process.

• 2023-10-12 | 15:00 - 16:30
• Signature Ballroom B, Hilton Beijing

*Participants from the automotive-related industry and automotive supply chain will enjoy free tickets.
Data sharing is a topic that is gaining traction worldwide.

The EU, for example, is enacting horizontal and sectoral legislation to further boost data sharing. The European strategy for data of February 2020 also foresaw the creation of common European data spaces in strategic sectors such as manufacturing, mobility and green deal. One of the most prominent data spaces is Catena-X, the first collaborative, open ecosystem for the automotive industry of the future, linking global players into end-to-end value chains, with the shared goal of a standardized global data exchange.

In China, at the end of 2022, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council jointly issued the Opinions on Building Basic Systems for Data to Better Give Full Play to the Role of Data Resources (Twenty Data Measures), aiming at fully leveraging China’s abundant data resources and rich application scenarios, and shedding light on Chinese-style data governance. Since then, relevant government agencies have stepped up efforts in exploring concrete policy measures.

• 2023-10-11 | 14:00 - 15:40
• Zoom/ European Chamber Office Beijing, 4th Floor, Room C405

The reform of Chinese state assets and state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has long remained the core element of China’s economic reform process. In 2015 the Guiding Opinions on Deepening the Reform of State-owned Enterprises (Guiding Opinions) was released as the key framework document to further modernize and improve the overall competence of SOEs. Successively, in 2020, the Three-year Action Program of SOE Reform (2020-2022) (Three-year Action Program) was issued and elaborated on the goals, timeline and future road map of the reform, which proves Chinese government’s ambition for the SOE system to make real changes.

国资国企改革长期以来是中国经济体制改革的重心。2015年，《关于深化国有企业改革的指导意见》（《指导意见》）出台，成为现阶段国企改革的框架性纲领文件，对进一步提高国企现代化和综合能力作出指示。2020年，《国企改革三年行动方案（2020－2022年）》等各项方案正式出台，国企改革的目标、时间表、路线图得到明确，展现了中国政府对深化国资国企改革的决心。

• 2023-09-21 | 14:30 - 16:30
• Signature Ballroom B, Hilton Beijing

The technology behind generative artificial intelligence (AI)—which can produce content such as text, imagery and audio—is developing at astonishing speeds. Following the release of ChatGPT in November 2022, this and other generative AI applications such as Stable Diffusion and GitHub Copilot, have captured public attention worldwide, thanks to their wide utility.

While the full economic potential of this technology is yet to be tapped into, there are a host of considerations and concerns for businesses and governments to take into account in the era of generative AI, not to mention the potential for legal and regulatory challenges.

• 2023-09-19 | 15:00 - 16:50
• Zoom/ European Chamber Office Beijing, 4th Floor, Room C405

2023 has seen China’s continued regulatory efforts that could impact foreign companies’ investment decisions in the country – for example, the newly introduced Anti-espionage Law and the tighter supervision over data. At the same time, the government has also rolled out a series of measures to optimise the business environment for foreign investors in a bid to demonstrate its support of FDI. The complex context in China has led to lots of discussions on whether China is still an attractive investment destination, especially amid the global supply chain diversification trend post-COVID. How should we identify the real status of FDI in the Chinese market today and tomorrow?

• 2023-09-13 | 15:00 - 16:30
• Zoom/ European Chamber Office Beijing, 4th Floor, Room C405

Faced with an increasingly unstable geopolitical and economic environment, industrial policy has been inserted as a core component of the agendas of the world’s three largest economies – the United States (US), China and the European Union (EU). Their strategies and regulations on renewable and low-carbon energy technologies, raw materials and technologies of the future are likely to result in profound implications for global supply and value chains while reshaping industries, especially high-technology sectors such as semiconductors.

What is the outlook for global geopolitics and trade amid this industrial strategy race? What are the implications of the various policy measures for the strategies of multinational companies? As the world drifts further away from globalisation, how will the elevation of industrial strategies impact the liberalisation of global trade?

• 2023-08-30 | 15:00 - 16:45
• Zoom/ European Chamber Office Beijing, 4th Floor, Room C405