The European Chamber South China Chapter held the launch of the Chamber's latest report Riskful Thinking: Navigating the Politics of Economic Security, the European Chamber South China Chapter's Annual General Meeting and also the 2024 European Business in China Awards presentation on April 17.
Speaking of the buzzword "new quality productive forces", Jens Eskelund, President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, told GDToday that it was a very natural path for China to focus on these more advanced industries.
Eskelund highlighted the importance of focusing on more sophisticated sectors to sustain growth. "China is evolving technologically, China also needs to increase productivity and find ways that it can continue to develop as a society and focus on these more sophisticated industries that create higher value added," he said.
Acknowledging China's pivotal role in global manufacturing, Eskelund stressed the indispensability of China in global supply chains. "China is the world's leading manufacturing economy by far, and you cannot think of global supply chains without thinking of China," he said.
Regarding China's efforts to attract foreign investment, Eskelund expressed optimism, particularly citing the recent measures aimed at optimizing the foreign investment environment.
He commented, "What is important for us is that it does not remain just words about opening up, but that this is something that is followed up with concrete action. This is what would really inspire confidence with the business communities. We have seen some progress on some measures." He raised the example of China trying out a unilateral visa-free policy for European countries.
The report Riskful Thinking, released initially on March 20 by the European Chamber and China Marco Group (CMG), was introduced by Jens Eskelund, President of the European Chamber, and Markus Herrmann Chen, Co-Founder and Managing Director of CMG.
Based on in-depth Chamber member interviews and extensive research, the report details the different approaches adopted by the European Union, China and the United States for managing perceived threats to their respective economies, as well as the actions that European businesses are taking to build resilience into their China operations and mitigate a growing number of risks.
Reporter | Hannah
Video | Qin Shaolong
Editor | Steven, Will, Monica, James
