stars Webinar series – “Staying in Dialogue with China”
Foreign Business in China – Today and Tomorrow
Joerg WUTTKE, President, European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC); Member, stars International Board, Beijing
30 September 2022, 9.00-9.45 CET
In our seventh and last conversation of this series, stars Switzerland Alumni Chapter President and stars Foundation Board Member Markus HERRMANN, Co-Founder and Managing Director at China Macro Group (CMG), will be talking to Joerg WUTTKE, President, European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC); Member, stars International Board, Beijing.
The year 2022 presents numerous challenges to foreign business in China: among them, a generally sluggish economy, Covid-induced disruptions of production and supply chains, further politicization of the business environment especially amid China’s role in the Ukraine war, further grown concerns about potential escalations in the Taiwan Strait as well as a rising number of European expats leaving the country. Almost four in five European companies – as surveyed by the EUCCC’s Business Confidence Survey in late spring 2022 – found China had lost attractiveness for investments; at the same time, eight times as many firms are reported to have plans for more onshoring than those planning to offshore. So, how is the business environment perceived by European business? Do businesses indeed rather strengthen their local presence instead of leaving? And how do they balance mitigation for short-term political and economic volatilities with longer-term considerations for domestic and global competitiveness?
Kindly note: All webinars of this series are held under Chatham House Rules and will not be recorded.
About the speaker:
Joerg WUTTKE is three-term President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) as well as Chief Representative of BASF China, based in Beijing. He also serves as Chairman of the China Task Force of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD. Since joining BASF in 1997, Joerg has been responsible for guiding the company’s investment strategies in China, negotiating large projects and conducting BASF’s government relations in China. Before joining BASF, Joerg worked 11 years with ABB. Joerg is also a Member of the stars International Board.