The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China?
https://www.europeanchamber.com.cn/en/european-chamber-background
ABOUT THE CHAMBER
"As the independent voice of European business in China, we seek greater market access and improved operating conditions for European companies".
The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China was founded in 2000 by 51 member companies that shared a goal of establishing a common voice for the various business sectors of the European Union and European businesses operating in China. It is a members-driven, non-profit, fee-based organisation with a core structure of 26 Working Groups and 9 Fora representing European business in China.
The European Chamber now has more than 1,700 members in 7 chapters operating in 9 cities: Beijing, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenyang, South China (Guangzhou and Shenzhen), Southwest China (Chengdu, Chongqing) and Tianjin. Each chapter is managed at the local level by local boards reporting directly to the Executive Committee. A company must purchase an additional membership(s), offered at a discounted rate, if it wishes to be a member and enjoy Chamber services in more than one location. The Advisory Council which includes the CEOs and presidents of some of the largest EU companies with investments in China, influences the priorities and line of action to be taken by the Chamber by providing advice on its strategic direction.
The Chamber is recognised by the European Commission and the Chinese Authorities as the official voice of European business in China. It is recognised as a Foreign Chamber of Commerce with the Ministry of Commerce and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade.
The European Chamber is part of the growing network of European Business Organisations (EBO). This network connects European business associations and chambers of commerce located in more than 45 third markets around the world.
2022-06-20 | All chapters
https://www.europeanchamber.com.cn/en/press-releases/3445
Beijing, 20th June 2022 – The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, in partnership with Roland Berger, today released its European Business in China Business Confidence Survey 2022 (BCS). The annual survey shows that while most European companies in China posted positive revenues and were profitable in 2021, doing business became more difficult for the majority.
As the rest of the world returns to a pre-pandemic level of normality, and China’s stringent COVID-19 policy exacerbates the challenges of doing business, many European Chamber members are questioning just how many eggs they are willing to keep in their China basket.
- Two thirds of European businesses saw revenue increases during 2021, however doing business also became more difficult year-on-year (y-o-y) for 60%.
- COVID-19 was the top issue faced by business in 2021, ranking as a top-three challenge for 49%; China’s economic slowdown, a top three issue for 24%, ranked second.
- 50% reported that the business environment became more politicised in 2021.
- Regulatory barriers are still resulting in missed business opportunities, with 42% of firms reporting this to be the case.
In response to mounting uncertainty—resulting from both China’s COVID-19 strategy and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—and to minimise their exposure to potential geopolitical shocks, European companies’ China operations are being increasingly siloed. Eight times as many respondents reported plans to onshore supply chains into China as those looking to offshore.
Significant localisation of staff has taken place over the last half decade all the way from junior recruits to board members. IT and data storage infrastructure has also been localised by 74% and 75% of respondents respectively, with this driven by ‘secure and controllable’ technology guidelines and increasingly stringent data governance regulations.
“The only thing predictable about China today is its unpredictability, and that is poisonous for the business environment,” said Bettina Schoen-Behanzin, vice president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. “Increasing numbers of European businesses are putting China investments on hold and re-evaluating their positions in the market as they wait to see how long this uncertainty will continue, and many are looking towards other destinations for future projects.”
“China remains crucial for most European businesses, both as an outlet for products with strong competitive advantage, and as a powerful industrial production base. It is too big and too important to scale down, but a holistic and stable framework is needed,” said Denis Depoux, global managing director of Roland Berger. "The deterioration of internal and external business conditions, with 13% more survey respondents finding business in China more difficult in 2022, even before the Covid resurgence, contrasts with the crucial role of China for them."
For more information:
Please contact Ms Charlotte SVENSSON, policy and communications coordinator, European Union Chamber of Commerce in China
+86 (10) 6462 2066 ext. 61, csvensson@europeanchamber.com.cn
If you have any question about the methodology of this survey, please contact: Ms. Renay Cheng, head of marketing & communication of Roland Berger, China
调查显示欧洲在华企业2021年营收向好、挑战加剧
北京2022年6月20日—中国欧盟商会联合罗兰贝格今日发布《商业信心调查2022》。本年度调查结果表明，大部分欧洲在华企业的营收状况向好发展的同时，其在华营商环境也愈加艰难。
相较于世界其他国家和地区陆续恢复疫情前的常态，中国严格的新冠疫情防控政策加剧了企业的营商挑战。这让中国欧盟商会众多会员企业不禁开始思考，还要将多少筹码留在中国。
- 三分之二的欧洲企业反映 2021 年收入增加，但60%的企业反映营商挑战增加。
- 2021年在华企业面临的前三大挑战中，49%的受访企业将新冠疫情视为首要难题，中国经济放缓位列第二，有24%的企业反映此问题。
- 50%的受访企业表示 2021 年的商业环境变得更加政治化。
- 监管壁垒持续导致企业错失商机，反映该问题的企业达42%。
为应对中国新冠疫情防控政策和俄乌战争所带来的不确定性，以及将地缘政治震动的相应影响最小化，欧洲企业的中国业务正在加强本地化。计划本地化供应链的企业数量是计划转移供应链的企业的八倍。
在过去五年间，众多企业的员工职位——从初级员工到董事会成员——实现了显著的本土化。由于“安全可控”的技术指导方针和日益严格的数据治理法规 ，有75% 的受访企业已将信息技术基础设施和数据存储基础设施本地化。
“今日中国唯一可预测的就是其不可预测性，这对商业环境有弊无利。” 中国欧盟商会副主席许倍帝女士表示，“越来越多的欧洲企业选择搁置在华投资，并重新考量自身在市场所处地位。企业正在观望这种不确定性将持续多久，许多企业也在为未来的项目寻找中国以外的投资目的地。”
“对于大多数欧洲企业而言，中国仍然至关重要。它既是具有巨大竞争优势的产品出口国，又是强大的工业生产基地。中国市场体量庞大，其重要性不可低估，但它需要一个稳定的整体框架。” 罗兰贝格全球管理委员会联席总裁戴璞先生说，“然而，即使在中国新冠疫情再度严重之前，反映2022年在华营商变得更为艰难的受访企业增加了13%。这与中国市场对企业的重要意义形成鲜明对比。”
更多信息：
请联系中国欧盟商会Charlotte SVENSSON女士
+86 (10) 6462 2066 转分机 61，csvensson@europeanchamber.com.cn
如有任何关于此调查报告方法论的问题，请垂询罗兰贝格中国区市场部负责人程俊女士
上海宣布6月1日起解封，但外企复工有限。根据统计，工业复工白名单企业共9198家，外企占比仅30%，企业复工率约为70%，复产率约为45%。
上海试图挽留外企，但清零政策令欧企止步不前
2022.06.20 14:45 ET
中国欧盟商会副主席许倍帝Bettina Schoen-Behanzin（右）警告说，他们正在“重新考虑”在中国的存在程度，并“重新定向”他们未来的投资。
法新社视频图中国欧盟商会20日发布针对欧洲企业的调查报告显示，由于中国严格的防疫封控措施，不少欧洲企业重新思考他们在中国的投资，并警告这些措施已对营运带来冲击。欧盟商会警告，世界不会等待中国，如果没有变化，外企肯定会开始考虑转移到其他市场。为了减缓外资撤离速度，上海市政府近期急忙找来外资高管召开20场政企沟通圆桌会议。
中国欧盟商会联合罗兰贝格(roland berger)管理咨询公司20日发布《商业信心调查2022》表明，大部分欧洲在华企业的营收状况向好发展的同时，其在中国的营商环境也愈加艰难，主要的原因是中国严格的防疫封控措施。
相较于世界其他国家和地区陆续恢复疫情前的常态，中国严格的新冠疫情防控政策加剧了企业的营商挑战，这让中国欧盟商会众多会员企业不禁开始思考，还要将多少筹码留在中国。
60%受访欧企表示，在中国经商越来越困难，大部分是因为防疫封控措施，而清零措施也阻碍了欧洲公司招聘国际和本地人才的能力。
尽管有挫折感，欧洲公司“并没有离开中国，因为市场太大”，“未来有很多增长机会”，然而，中国欧盟商会副主席许倍帝（Bettina Schoen-Behanzin）警告说，他们正在“重新考虑”在中国的存在程度，并“重新定向”他们未来的投资。23% 的受访公司正在考虑将投资转移出中国，这是10年来的最高比例。
许倍帝就表示，希望中国真正觉醒，并找到方法脱离清零政策，因为这导致庞大的不确定性，势必对投资不利。
许倍帝之前接受彭博社采访时就说，“商业信心显然正在消退，因为取决于这种封锁将对这里的企业持续多长时间，所以收入肯定会下降，上海也肯定是在利用它的吸引力。外国人想尽快离开，特别是有家人在这里的人，所以很难在这里和总部吸引和留住人才。我非常非常担心。如果他们现在考虑未来在亚洲的投资，上海绝对不会在名单的榜首。”
2021年在华企业面临的前三大挑战中，49%的受访企业将新冠疫情视为首要难题，中国经济放缓位列第二。50%的受访企业表示， 2021 年的商业环境变得更加政治化。42%的企业认为，监管壁垒持续，导致企业错失商机。
“世界不会等待中国，如果没有变化，企业肯定会开始考虑后备计划并转移到其他市场。”许倍帝说，“今日中国唯一可预测的就是其不可预测性，这对商业环境有弊无利。”“越来越多的欧洲企业选择搁置在华投资，并重新考量自身在市场所处地位。企业正在观望这种不确定性将持续多久，许多企业也在为未来的项目寻找中国以外的投资目的地。”
中国欧盟商会在 2 月和 3 月针对 600 多家欧盟公司进行了调查，与此同时，从商业中心上海到北部粮仓省份吉林，多个地区实施了严格的封锁，以控制中国两年来最严重的新冠疫情。
报告发现， 92% 的成员公司受到供应链问题的打击，四分之三的成员公司表示他们的运营受到了疫情控制的负面影响，在4月的调查中，60%受访企业表示，他们已经下修2022年营收预测。
俄乌战争也对企业信心带来冲击，1/3受访者表示，地缘政治紧张成为中国市场越来越没吸引力的原因。
而为了减缓外资撤离速度挽回外企信心，上海市政府近期急忙找来外资高管召开20场政企沟通圆桌会议。6月1日至9日，市政府连续召开7场外资企业视频圆桌会议，其中按投资来源国分美国欧盟日本德国四场。15日，上海为30家跨国公司地区总部和10家外资研发中心颁发证书，这是本轮疫情以来，上海首次为跨国公司授牌。
上海封城对跨国企业造成巨大伤害，工厂关闭、交通中断、航班断航、物流冻结、人员被困在家，整个上海的经济活动陷入停顿。更为严重的是，严厉的清零抗疫措施导致供应链中断，引起世界许多国家因零部件断供而出现物价上涨、通胀泛滥。
上海积极挽留外企，中国欧盟商会主席伍德克（Joerg Wuttke）则直言，清零政策已经损害上海的吸引力，也损害整个中国的吸引力，尤其其它主要市场已经开放，并试图将企业从中国市场吸引走的时候，此时“世界不会等待中国收拾完自己的烂摊子”。
上海宣布6月1日起解封，但外企复工有限。根据统计，工业复工白名单企业共9198家，外企占比仅30%，企业复工率约为70%，复产率约为45%。
自由亚洲电台记者蔡凌巴黎报导 责编：嘉远 网编：瑞哲
Bettina Schoen-Behanzin entered Freudenberg Group in October 2012. As Regional Representative Asia she has been leading the Regional Corporate Center, based in Shanghai, China and is providing guidance and support for strategic planning and business development for the Freudenberg Business Groups in the region. From March 2008 to September 2012 she served as Managing Director of Wittur Elevator Components, China. She assumed the role of Managing Director of Rittal Electro-Mechanical Technology, China from 2000 to 2008, after having been the General Manager of Rittal in China as well as Sales and Marketing Manager of Rittal in Singapore. She had joined the Rittal Headquarters in Germany in 1992.
Bettina Schoen-Behanzin has acquired a Master degree in Sinology, Business Economics and Political Science at the Ruhr-University in Bochum, Germany. Furthermore, she did Post-Graduate Studies of Chinese and Economics at Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Speaking Chinese fluently, Bettina Schoen-Behanzin has around 25 years of working experience in Asia, mostly in China, leading operational business as well acting in corporate functions. From April 2014 to April 2016 she served as Director of the Board of the German Chamber Shanghai, being reelected in April 2016 and April 2018 as President of the Board of the German Chamber Shanghai. In 2019, she was the first German woman to receive Shanghai Municipal Government’s Magnolia Gold Award.
Bettina Schoen-Behanzin
Angestellt, Managing Director, Wittur Elevator Components (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.
Wujiang, China
