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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

EU Chamber's China Position Paper Released

Yesterday, the EU Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) released its annual Position Paper which represents the overall views of European companies doing business in China. The Position Paper is presented to the Chinese government and EU authorities each year with the aim of improving the investment climate in China.

This year's highlights include:

1. Huge room for growth in EU investment in China (in 2008, less than 3% of EU outbound FDI went to China). EU companies eager to expand their China operations but face daunting set of obstacles and risks.

2. Significant steps taken by Chinese government towards greater consultation and transparency over past year: in 2009 over 300 laws and regulations released in draft format for public consultation (sharp increase over 2008). However, still room for improvement and cases of insufficient consultation undermine transparency and create uncertainty.

3. For past 3 years, European companies have consistently identified the discretionary enforcement of laws and regulations as the most significant regulatory challenge to doing business in China.

4. European companies want equal access to China's markets but find their access undermined by a number of key obstacles, including: 1) compulsory certification and licensing schemes, 2) intellectual property policies (i.e. China's 'indigenous innovation' campaign), and 3) discriminatory government procurement practices.

5. EU companies are proud to be in China and to be a part of China's success story. The EU Chamber would like to see less protectionism and more fairness in trade and investment in both the EU and China.

Click here to read the executive summary of the EUCCC's Position Paper in English and here for the Chinese version.
Updated 3 September, 2010

UKTI Mission to Qingdao and Yantai

UK Trade & Investment and the China-Britain Business Council will host a business mission to the coastal cities of Qingdao and Yantai in Northeast China's Shandong Province from 19th-21st October 2010.

The visit will focus on exploring opportunities for UK companies in China's regional cities. Participants will enjoy access to high-level officials, develop contacts in business meetings and gain knowledge about specific opportunities.

(Photo source: British Embassy Beijing. Qingdao's city skyline)

Click here for the full UKTI invitation and here for the press release.

To register, please complete the attached registration form here and send it by email to Wei Min (thomas.wei@fco.gov.uk) at the British Embassy, Beijing.
Updated 18 August, 2010

Chinese E-Commerce Operator Alibaba Pursues US Acquisitions

In a move to expand its overseas business, Chinese online business platform operator Alibaba will increasingly focus on foreign acquisitions, especially in the US, as an integral part of its strategy.

In an interview with Bloomberg in Hong Kong earlier this week, Alibaba CEO David Wei said, "The United States is the top priority in our investment list." Alibaba first launched an e-commerce site targeting the US market earlier this year and completed its first acquisition of a US company last month.

Earlier this week, Alibaba reported its strongest quarterly profit in two years, with second quarter profits rising 46% from a year earlier to reach 363 million yuan ($53.6 million).

Read more here.
Updated 12 August, 2010

Surging Diamond Consumption in China

The Shanghai Diamond Exchange announced yesterday that China's diamond imports grew by a remarkable 92% in the first half of this year, reaching a record $577 million. China surpassed Japan last year to become the world's second largest diamond market after the US. Read more here.

(Photo source: www.topboxdesign.com. Shanghai Diamond Exchange)

CBI member and UK mining giant Rio Tinto reported that sales revenues from its diamond operations in the first half increased 77% year-on-year, citing rising demand growth in both China and India as a key factor in the impressive performance of its diamond unit. Rio Tinto operates diamond mines in Australia, Canada and Zimbabwe. Read more here.

Earlier this year, Rio Tinto Diamonds opened a representative office in Hong Kong to further support its marketing efforts and allow the company to increasingly tap into the growing Chinese diamond market. Read more here.
Updated 11 August, 2010

Green China update

CBI China would like to highlight several interesting green developments in China over the past week, which underscore the country's efforts to move towards a more sustainable economic path for the future.

China may launch trials for an environmental tax in four largely rural provinces (Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and Gansu), likely to be levied on carbon dioxide emissions and polluted water discharges. Read more here.

(Photo source: www.dailymail.co.uk. New public transportation vehicle in development by a Chinese engineering firm and powered by clean energy)

A Chinese engineering firm is developing a highly innovative new bus, known as the 3D Express Coach, which aims to alleviate auto congestion and pollution by carrying passengers above passing traffic in an elevated design. The futuristic new transportation vehicle will be powered by a combination of electricity and solar energy and be able to travel at speeds of up to 60 kilometres per hour. A pilot scheme is scheduled for Beijing's Mentougou District, with construction slated to begin later this year. Read more here in an article by the UK Daily Mail, a CBI member.

Chinese power equipment manufacturer CHINT Group announced plans yesterday to invest 22 billion yuan ($3.25 billion) to construct two new solar power projects in western China's Gansu Province. In addition, a deputy director of China's National Energy Administration stated last week that solar power may become as cheap as coal-fired electricity 10 years from now, with solar power tariffs potentially falling and solar power output capacity projected to rise significantly. Read more here and here.
Updated 6 August, 2010

CBI China Member Snapshot

CBI China has prepared an investment snapshot featuring brief profiles of the most recent China activities of some of our members, including British, French, German, Italian, Swiss, Spanish, Japanese, American and Canadian companies, reflecting the diversity of CBI's membership.

Highlights include:

Swiss engineering giant ABB announced plans to participate in the construction of the nuclear power plant with the largest installed capacity in China.

Airbus signed an agreement to sell Air China's subsidiary Shenzhen Airlines 10 Airbus 320 jetliners for $814 million.

New CBI member Banco Santander is in talks with China Construction Bank Corp. to establish a joint venture to provide banking services in the vast, untapped market of China's rural areas.

BMW announced that China surpassed the UK in the first half of 2010 as its third-largest market worldwide. To support further expansion in China, the German luxury automaker broke ground in June on a new manufacturing facility in northeastern Shenyang, scheduled to begin operation in 2012.

US aviation giant Boeing marked the sale of its 800th aircraft to China in July. In late June, Air China agreed to purchase 20 of Boeing's 737-800 planes for $1.4 billion.

Canadian aerospace and railway conglomerate Bombardier announced in July that its Chinese joint venture received a $761 million order for 40 additional CRH1 high-speed trainsets from China's Ministry of Railways.

Fiat signed a deal in early July to form a joint venture with state-owned Guangzhou Automobile Group Co., scheduled to begin production in central China's Hunan Province in 2011. The Italian automaker will invest $559 million.

Ford Motor Company reported record China sales of 301,524 units in the first half of 2010, an increase of 53% from a year earlier.

GKN Driveline, the largest business within British engineering group GKN, broke ground in May on a new manufacturing facility in Changchun in Northeast China, slated to open in 2011.

General Motors announced its China sales rose nearly 50% in the first half of 2010 over the same period last year. The US carmaker sold more vehicles in China than in the US for the first time ever.

Michelin plans to invest approximately $1.5 billion to build a tire manufacturing plant in Shenyang in Northeast China. Scheduled to start production in 2012, the proposed plant will double the French company's capacity in China.

PepsiCo plans to invest $2.5 billion in China over the next three years, including the launch of 10-12 new plants in the country.

Rio Tinto signed a binding agreement in late July with China's state-owned metals group Chinalco to set up a joint venture to operate an iron ore project in Guinea in West Africa.

Toshiba announced in mid-July that it has agreed to form a joint venture with one of China's leading consumer electronics companies. The Japanese high-tech manufacturer aims to expand sales of its brand-name TVs in China. Headquartered in Guangdong Province in southern China, the new company plans to establish a nationwide network of more than 10,000 stores by 2012.

Click here to read the full PDF.
Updated 4 August, 2010

Moderate Slowdown in China's Manufacturing Growth

China's manufacturing growth slowed in July, expanding at the slowest pace in 17 months. According to data released on Sunday by China's National Bureau of Statistics and the Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, the country's official Purchasing Manager's Index fell from 52.1 in June to 51.2 in July, marking the third consecutive month of decline. However, the index has remained above 50 for 17 straight months. A reading above 50 shows an expansion while one below 50 indicates a contraction.

(Photo source: www.afp.com)

According to Qu Hongbin, chief China economist for CBI member and financial services giant HSBC, the cooling of manufacturing production growth reflects the, "combined effect of credit tightening, property cooling measures and Beijing's measures to cut capacity in energy-intensive sectors."

In mid-July, China reported first-half GDP growth of 11.1%, a moderate slowdown from the blistering 11.9% growth recorded in the first quarter.

Read more here and here.
Updated 2 August, 2010

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

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