Since the opening of our Beijing office in 2006, we have been actively representing and networking on behalf of and providing intelligence to our members with a presence or interest in China.
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Latest news
Changes to Overseas Passport Services
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Home Office have agreed that from April 2011, the Identity & Passport Service (IPS—an agency of the Home Office) will become the single provider of full validity passports for British nationals at home and overseas.
Passport production in mainland China has been transferred to Hong Kong as part of the passport rationalisation programme to IPS in April 2011. By the end of 2010, the FCO will have created 7 Regional Passport Processing Centres, based in Düsseldorf, Hong Kong, Madrid, Paris, Pretoria, Washington, and Wellington. These Centres will process all the passport applications for customers overseas until that work is centralised in the UK.
Click here for full details.
Updated 28 July, 2010
Financial Times Article on China's Business Environment
On Sunday, China's Minister of Commerce Chen Deming directly addressed concerns raised by foreign industrial leaders that China's business environment for foreign companies has worsened over the past year.
In an article published by the Financial Times, a CBI member, Minister Chen cited rising flows of foreign direct investment into China and the remarkable success of many large multinationals in the country as evidence of China's open and welcoming business climate. He emphasized that China's economy will continue to open up even further in the future.
Read the full Financial Times article here.
Updated 27 July, 2010
China Economic Focus July 2010
(Image courtesy of www.godanriver.com)
An overview and summary (download below) of key economic and trade figures for July 2010.
-Second Quarter GDP growth figures
-Continued surge in exports
-Limited prospects for renminbi appreciation
-Reduction in inflationary pressures
-Continued cooling of the property market
-Listing of Agricultural Bank of China
-China and UK discuss ways to increase the flow of finance to SMEs
-China's outward FDI rising rapidly
-QFII license holders to be allowed to invest in stock index futures
-Insurance regulator relaxes restrictions on investments by insurance companies
-Dagong becomes first non-Western credit rating agency to assess sovereign risks
-New measures announced to allow increased use of the renminbi in Hong Kong
Our thanks as always to Peter Mumford and his economics team at the UK Embassy for supplying this information.
Download CEF July 2010
Updated 26 July, 2010
Ford Expands in China
US car giant and CBI member Ford Motor Company has recently announced an expansion of its partnership with Chinese automaker Jiangling Motors Co. On Sunday, the two companies broke ground in southeastern China's Jiangxi Province on a new £196 million ($300 million) plant which is scheduled to begin production in 2012 and produce 300,000 vehicles annually.
The two carmakers already operate two joint plants in China which have a combined annual capacity of 210,000 vehicles. Ford currently holds a 30% stake in Jiangling.
(Photo source: Autoblog.com. Ford celebrates the production of its 500,000th Focus model at its Chongqing plant in Southwest China in March this year)
China's auto industry has grown phenomenally over the past decade, with the number of car units sold skyrocketing from 2 million in 2000 to 13 million in 2009. The country surpassed the US last year to become the largest auto market in the world, a powerful draw to leading global carmakers as sales remain low in established markets such as the EU and US.
Both Ford and Jiangling reported record sales in China in the first half of this year. Ford China sold 301,524 units, up 53% from a year ago, and Jiangling sold 88,363 units, an increase of 65.7% from last year. Read more here and here.
Updated 20 July, 2010
Housing Prices Fall
On Monday, new data released by the Chinese government showed that average property prices fell in June, the first month-on-month decline since February 2009. Although property prices across 70 cities declined 0.1% last month compared with May, they still remained 11.4% higher than one year ago.
(Photo source: Overseaspropertymall.com. Luxury housing development in Beijing)
Following the release of the new data, the Chinese Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development reiterated the government's commitment to continue enforcing tightened regulations on the housing market aimed at curbing speculation. In April, the Chinese government cracked down on rampant speculation by adopting a series of new restrictive measures including higher down-payments on homes, tightened rules on loans to developers, and limitations on multiple home purchases. Yesterday, Chinese housing authorities said they will continue to promote policies aimed at increasing the supply of commercial homes, accelerating the construction of affordable housing, and strengthening supervision of the real estate market. Read more here.
Concerns about the possibility of the Chinese economy falling into a sharp downturn later this year have been heightened by the potential for declining housing prices to accelerate such a slowdown. Read more here.
Updated 13 July, 2010
BSI introduces carbon footprints & carbon neutrality standards into China
To support low carbon economy, CBI member, the British Standards Institution (BSI) was responsible for the development of the world's first standard for the determination of carbon footprints for product and services and recently published a publicly available specification (PAS) for the demonstration of carbon neutrality.
(Photo and new source: BSI)
By a joint project with China National Institute of Standardization and financed by British Embassy Beijing, BSI has introduced carbon footprints & carbon neutrality standards into China. The achievement of the project was announced at a forum in Beijing on 22 June and a parallel forum in Guangzhou on 24 June respectively. Over 200 people were present at the forums.
BSI, who is well-known for developing the most popular quality standard ISO 9000 in the world, is developing a carbon emission standard that is going to be the next most popular standard. At the forums, BSI expressed the strong wish to collaborate with China in developing this standard as China is making tremendous effort to reduce carbon emission.
Updated 2 July, 2010
European Chamber's Annual Business Confidence Survey
The European Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) today released its annual Business Confidence Survey, which surveyed over 500 European companies based in China between March and April of 2010. Several key findings are highlighted below.
European companies remain committed to China.
• Nearly half of respondents plan to make major new investments over the next two years and 64% ranked China as a top 3 destination globally.
• Overall optimism about business sector growth rebounded this year to nearly 80%, up from 65% in the midst of the economic crisis in 2009.
However, that commitment is by no means guaranteed. Respondents remain deeply concerned about regulatory transparency and enforcement and rising competition from Chinese firms.
• 40% of European businesses surveyed expect the regulatory environment for Foreign Invested Enterprises (FIEs) to worsen over the next two years.
• Competitive pressure concerns rose from 36% in 2009 to 43% in 2010, suggesting local rivals are growing with the market and slightly eroding the competitive advantage of European companies.
Respondents cited the following as the top 5 risks to business in mainland China:
1) Global economic slowdown
2) Chinese economic slowdown
3) Competition from domestic firms
4) Rising labour costs
5) Local protectionism/anti-foreign sentiment
Market and growth-related concerns are clearly troubling European companies, with the first four of the top five risks cited falling into that category. Concerns about local protectionism reveal that respondents continue to remain worried about their ability to compete on a level playing field with their Chinese rivals.
Please download the full Executive Summary (in 2 parts) below:
Download Bcs2010_en_part1
Download Bcs2010_en_part2
Updated 2 July, 2010
Business Opportunities in Southern China
On Tuesday 3 August, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) will host a seminar in Shanghai at the JW Marriott Hotel at Tomorrow Square on business opportunities in the Guangxi Autonomous Region's Beibu Gulf Development Zone.
Situated on the southwest coast of China, the Beibu Gulf is destined to become the 4th largest economic cluster in China.
Running from 14:30-17:30, the seminar will be co-hosted by the Guangxi provincial government. Attendees will meet with the key government officials responsible for the Beibu Gulf, and receive up-to-date information on exciting business projects, including multi-billion dollar investments in urban development projects, upgrading of transport infrastructure, and the establishment of a China-ASEAN free trade zone. Special opportunities exist for companies in the infrastructure/construction, financial services, petrochemicals, advanced engineering, metallurgy, and ICT sectors.
Click here for further information. Deadline for registration is 16 July.
Updated 28 June, 2010
KPMG China Outsourcing Summit
CBI member and professional services firm KPMG will be hosting an event called "KPMG China Outsourcing Summit: Aligning growth with talent" on Tuesday, July 13 at the Ritz Carlton, Financial Street in Beijing.
The summit will provide a platform for professionals involved in outsourcing and offshoring in China to exchange ideas and share experiences from both the buy and sell sides. Participants will include top level government representatives, C-level executives from global and local services providers and multinational corporations that outsource and offshore to China or are planning to do so.
Click here for full details.
Updated 25 June, 2010
Shanghai in 2020
CBI member Goldman Sachs issued a report this month forecasting that Shanghai will become a fully-fledged global financial centre by 2020. Analysts predict that two fundamental reforms will occur in China over the next decade that will fundamentally alter the domestic financial landscape, namely the move towards full currency convertibility of the yuan and the opening up of the A share domestic market to foreign investors. Equity liquidity in Shanghai alone could reach up to $350 billion per day by 2020, in comparison to $47 billion per day currently. Shanghai would then account for as much as 53% of Asia's liquidity and 75% of China's. Read more about the Goldman report here.
(Photo source: ShanghaiDaily.com. View from the skyscrapers in Shanghai's Lujiazui area, an important financial district)
The Chinese government has ambitious plans for Shanghai's future. In March 2009, the State Council, China's chief administrative authority, announced plans to build the city into an international financial centre and global shipping hub by 2020. Read more here and the State Council directive in English and Chinese here and here.
Already the dominant commercial centre in China, Shanghai's economy surpassed Hong Kong's in overall size this year, growing at a robust pace of 8.2% in 2009. In comparison, New York City's economy turned in a lackluster performance of 0.9% in the fourth quarter after seven consecutive quarterly declines. The spectacular opening of the Shanghai World Expo on April 30th reinforced Shanghai's position as a city with truly global aspirations and highlighted the city's remarkable growth over the past two decades. To date nearly 20 million people have visited the Expo.
Updated 24 June, 2010
Regulatory Environment Update
China's Minister of Commerce Chen Deming reiterated that, "China's policies to promote indigenous innovation are not pegged to trade policies," and that, "a product's added value in China is regarded as the standard to judge whether the product is "home made." He made the comments in a conference in Tokyo, remarks clearly aimed at reassuring foreign investors that the Chinese government is not seeking to exclude them from the domestic market. Click here for more information.
(Photo source: Chinaview.com. Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming (4th L) and other Chinese officials hold a press conference in Tokyo on June 7, 2009 at the 2nd Sino-Japanese high-level economic dialogue)
In addition, China's State Council Information Office released a white paper yesterday on the country's Internet policy, which stressed, "the guarantee of citizens' freedom of speech on the Internet and more intensive application of it." Click here for more information and here for the full text of the white paper in Chinese.
Updated 9 June, 2010
Upcoming Intellectual Property Protection Events
The EU-China Project on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR2) will be hosting two upcoming events.
First, IPR2 will hold an EU-China training session for IP protection at trade fairs in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province in eastern China on July 12. Click here for more information.
Second, IPR2 will hold an "International Seminar on Intellectual Property Protection of Software" in Dalian, Shandong Province in northeast China on June 23. Click here for more information.
IPR2 was launched in 2007 by the European Commission and the Government of the People's Republic of China. The objective of the project is to improve the effectiveness of intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement in China.
Updated 4 June, 2010
Contemporary Architectural Forum in Southern China
The British Chamber of Commerce in Guangdong, UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the British Consulate-General Guangzhou, and the China Britain Business Council (CBBC) have organized the UK Contemporary Architectural Forum which will be held in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province on June 30th from 16:00-20:00.
(Photo source: Worldarchitecturenews.com. Design sketch for the Shenzhen Museum of Contemporary Art)
The interactive forum will include demonstrations from top Chinese developers as well as showcase the latest UK design build skills and technologies.
Please confirm by 21 June in order to secure your place at the forum by email at event@britchamgd.com or call 02083315013 or 0755 2658 8350.
Click here for the full programme details.
Updated 3 June, 2010
Biannual China Import and Export Fair
The China Import & Export Fair (also called the Canton Fair) is held twice every year in Guangzhou in the spring and the fall, organized by China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM).
(Photo source: Cantonfair.org. China Import & Export Fair exhibition hall in Guangzhou in 2009)
The fair showcases some of the best Chinese enterprises and their latest products as well as offering a direct channel for European exporters and manufacturers to put on display their featured products and explore the Chinese market.
MOFCOM's Department of European Affairs and the China Foreign Trade Centre will hold a Promotion Conference of the 108th Session of the China Import and Export Fair at 10:30am on June 17th in the Westin Beijing Chaoyang Hotel on 7 North Dongsanhuan Road. Click here for the individual company invitation/reply slip.
Please contact Ms. Chen Hua for further information.
Fax: 020-89138888
Tel: 020-89138615
Email: info@cantonfair.org.cn
Updated 1 June, 2010
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