European Chamber publishes recommendations aimed at helping the Southwest China region to achieve its overall policy goals Go back »

2016-04-15 | Southwest China

13^th April, 2016 – Today, the European Chamber released the European Business in China – Southwest China Position Paper 2015/2016 (Southwest China Position Paper), as a standalone report for the first time. It compiles the latest assessments and concerns of European businesses operating in Southwest China with the aim of offering constructive recommendations to policy-makers in Chengdu, Chongqing and Sichuan Province. The Chamber hopes that this white paper will help to facilitate increased government dialogue and improve operating conditions for foreign companies invested in Southwest China, enabling them to invest further and help the region to develop sustainably and achieve its policy goals.

Chengdu is developing rapidly with a high rate of economic growth and an increasing number of European companies choosing it as a destination for investment. However, the European Chamber has urged the city not to rest on its laurels. The Southwest China Position Paper presents seven key recommendations that the Chamber believes will enable the city to meet the goals it has set to become the economic engine of Southwest China and to establish itself as a national gateway. These include: improving theair quality; addressing limitations and deficiencies in the regulatory environment; increasing the efficiency of trade facilitation; improving existing healthcare services and increasing the number of international hospitals; creating the conditions for attracting international talent; allowing international companies to participate in the bidding processes for all government contracts; and increasing Internet speed and access to international websites.

An increasing number of European companies are also investing in Chongqing. However, while the Chamber maintains that many aspects of the city’s development are laudable, its report outlines numerous areas where improvements are still required. First, it advocates increasing the frequency and quality of communication between the Chongqing Municipal Government and the European business community. The report also encourages the authorities to make the city a more competitive destination for investment by creating a more international and open city through such measures as improving healthcare, expanding English-language services, improving international connectivity, promoting the city as a destination for tourism and raising the quality of taxi services. Lastly, the paper emphasises the importance of improving the existing educational system and expanding educational offerings.

Chairman of the Chamber’s Southwest Chapter Ulrich O. Birch said, “As taxpayers and employers whose success is intertwined with that of Chengdu, Chongqing and Sichuan Province, the European Chamber hopes that these recommendations will be received in the spirit of mutual cooperation in which they are offered. Our goal is therefore not only for direct and indirect discrimination against foreign-invested enterprises to be removed, but to help make the region more attractive as a destination for investment and place to live.”

Download the paper here.

About the European Business in China – Southwest China Position Paper 2015/2016

The European Chamber started incorporating local focus papers into our main lobbying publication, the European Business in China Position Paper, in 2010. The European Business in China – Southwest China Position Paper 2015/2016 is one ofthe series of standalone local Position Papers that the European Chamber has released for Shanghai, Beijing, South China and Tianjin. 

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