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.
We hope you find the following pages useful and please do not hesitate to contact us.
Latest news
Foreign trade down in November
Guangdong province, China's largest province in terms of foreign trade, on the Southeastern coast reported a 13% fall to US$53.35 billion in foreign trade in November. China's total exports fell 2.2% to US$114.9 billion in November. Areas with high proportions of traditionally labour-intensive industries, such as Guangdong, have been hit especially badly due to rising labour and raw material costs, fast appreciation of the yuan and weaker demand in developed countries.
Updated 16 December
3G licences may be granted in December
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) has said China's long-awaited 3G mobile licences may be granted as early as end of 2008 or by early 2009 at the latest. China Mobile will be given a TD-SCDMA licence, following China's own 3G standard, while China Telecom and China Unicom will be granted licences based on the CDMA2000 and WCDMA standards, respectively. The total network investment from the three major Chinese telecom operators will amount to RMB200 billion (US$ 29.19 billion).
Updated 16 December
Regional cities business opportunities
CBI members are invited to attend the UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) and the British Chamber of Commerce in China's series of seminars aiming to help British companies identify and explore opportunities in China’s regional cities.
Building on the research from UKTI’s recently-published report on ‘Opportunities for UK Businesses in China’s Regional Cities’, you will learn about the dynamic business environment outside traditional centres such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou.
The road show starts on Thursday 4 December in Shanghai and then goes to Chengdu (5 December), Guangzhou (8 December), Hong Kong (9 December) and Beijing (11 December).
For more information, please read the seminar brochure (PDF 423KB).
Updated 2 December
The UK launches new migrant and business visitor rules
The UK has launched two new point-based systems for migrants coming to work in the UK and new rules for business visitors. Please click here to visit the UK Border Agency's website to find out more about the new categories and rules.
If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact the CBI's Beijing office.
Updated 2 December
European business optimistic about business in China
The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) launched its fifth annual European Chamber Business Confidence Survey on 25 November. More than 250 European companies active in China reported their optimism and concerns about doing business in China.
The survey showed that "European companies in China are generally optimistic and committed to the Chinese market and its future, despite mounting challenges". Despite a slowing economy, China is attracting an increasing number of European companies, especially small- and medium-sized companies and remains an attractive destination to investors. Companies reported greater profitability than last year and there is still high business growth potential.
European business are, however, concerned about increasing costs, rising domestic competition and transparency and intellectual property rights protection.
Please click here for the EUCCC survey executive summary. Please contact EUCCC directly if you are interested in a copy of the survey.
The CBI's members have aired similar optimism and commitment in China, while approaching investment plans for the new year with caution.
Updated 2 December
CBI launches climate change website
The CBI’s climate change website is now live and can be accessed at http://climatechange.cbi.org.uk/. Please visit the site to learn more about the CBI’s UK and global initiatives to combat climate change and to learn what your company can do to measure, manage, reduce and report its greenhouse gases. You can also read our latest press releases, download our reports, learn more about the CBI’s Climate Change Board or meet our own UK based policy team.
Finally, you may also be interested to learn more about our Climate Change Summit http://climatechange.cbi.org.uk/events/13/ being hosted in London this week.
Updated 2 December
CBI Conference hears from Political and Business Elite
The 2008 CBI Annual Conference 'Performance through adversity' took place in London on Monday 24 November. This provided CBI members with a timely opportunity to debate with key business and political leaders on the best response to the current downturn, and how to prepare for the upturn when it comes.
# The Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, and Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron, set out their policies to deal with the current recession. Whilst the Prime Minister emphasised the role of fiscal policy to boost the economy, Mr Cameron focused on monetary policy, warning against any measures that would make the state of the public finances worse. Business Secretary, Lord Mandelson, stressed the importance of manufacturing to the British economy and said that low-carbon technologies would define the 21st century.
# CBI members also heard from a line-up of business leaders from all sectors of the economy who gave first-hand insight into the differing challenges facing companies, including HSBC Group Chairman, Stephen Green, and the Chief Executives of 3M, George Buckley, Shell, Jeroen van der Veer, and Rolls Royce, Sir John Rose.
To read all the speeches at the CBI Annual Conference, please click here.
Updated 28 November
CBI members well represented at British Business Awards in China
The inaugural British Business Awards (BBA) ceremony was held in Central Beijing on 6 November. Held in the presence of the Guest of Honour, HRH Prince Andrew, The Duke of York and the British Ambassador, Sir William Ehrman, more than 400 guests attended the lavish event.
Originally 100 UK companies, entrepreneurs and alumni battled to win the top prize in each of six categories ranging from ‘entrepreneur’ to ‘icebreaker’ of the year. Following an intensive selection and judging process which involved more than 2500 votes being cast online the finalists were reduced to just 35. All five finalists in the Company of the Year category were CBI members and the top award went to AstraZeneca.
Amy Ng, Senior Vice President, AstraZeneca (left) and The Duke of York (right) (photo by Ben McMillan)
The CBI, in collaboration with the British Chamber and CBBC, was a supporting organiser of the BBA. For
more detailed review of the BBA and winners please visit: http://www.britishbusinessawards.cn/index.php
Updated 7 November
CBI's climate change subpage launched
The CBI's China website has launched a new subpage dedicated to climate change in China. We will track down major climate change developments in China as well as report on our climate change initiatives in China and further afield. Please visit the CBI's climate change page here.
Updated 3 November
CBI talks climate change in China
CBI's Head of Climate Change, Rhian Kelly, visited China in October. Rhian met with Chinese and British government officials, academics, and businesses as well as chambers of commerce in Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Guangzhou. The purpose of her visit was to further assess how the CBI can add value to climate change initiatives in China. For further information, please get in touch with the CBI's Beijing office.
Updated 3 November