In November 25th, the European Union Chamber of Commerce(EuCham) in China celebrated its 20th Anniversary in Shenzhen. Founded in 2000, the EuCham is a product of globalization and witnesses great achievements of all-round opening up in China.

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As a EuCham member, BASF has newly launched its smart Verbund project with US$10 billion investment in Zhanjiang, Guangdong province, China and its first plant is under construction. The first plant, which is expected to be operational by 2022, will produce engineering plastics and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) to serve the increasing needs of various growth industries in the southern China market and throughout Asia.

In accordance with the trend of the world, a forum with the theme of “When China’s new digital infrastructure initiative meets a de-globalised world” was held as the first half of the celebration event.

Digitalisation is a hot topic all over the world and China is playing a leading role. Speaking about 5G applications, Mr. Joerg Wuttke, President of the EuCham said that China is excellent in using it for consumer purposes. Whereas in European businesses, they use it more for industrial applications to make plants safer, to make response rate faster.

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Mr. Joerg Wuttke also spoke highly of Chinese’s open-minded and inclusive attitude. He said: “It is interesting to see why this digitalization happens primarily so fast in China. I think it has to do also with people. People in China are willing to take more risks than many other societies and they are very curious. You could also see these characteristics across the Strait in Taipei in the 1980s, how basically Chinese people have this DNA of curiosity and risk-taking that leads to this kind of explosion of development that we have seen.”

According to Mr. Joerg, in China, Shenzhen is at the frontline of digitalisation and innovation where people are willing to put together something new. Furthermore, Hong Kong, as an integral neighbour, is important as an inspiration and a capital provider.

Apart from the bright side of progress, the world is also experiencing decoupling. The U.S. killed ZTE in March 2018 and diminished the chances of Huawei, Tiktok. Mr. Joerg expressed his worry:” We thought that technology brings us together and now all of a sudden, we see it actually tears us part.”

Rivals do not need to be adversaries. As Mr. Joerg said: “To compete with China is producing better ideas and better technologies, and not by bullying or threatening China.”

Author|Catherine

Editor|Jerry