Circular Economy Mission to China – November 22-25, 2016 – Beijing
Nov-28-2016 By : fcccadmin
The European Union organized a trade mission to Beijing from November 23 till 25 for companies in the circular economy. The mission was organized concurrently with the China International Circular Economy Exhibition (http://en.chinacace.org – www.chinacace.org). The EU-China Business Association took part in this mission and was represented by Mr Philippe Van der Donckt, Vice-Chairman EUCBA, and Ms Gwenn Sonck, Secretary General, EUCBA.
The participants received an introductory briefing on doing business in China, including a keynote speech by the EU Director-General for Environment Daniel Calleja. EU Commissioner Karmenu Vella attended a networking cocktail on the first day of the mission and met with the members of the delegation. The China Association for Circular Economy (CACE) organized a visit for the participants to the China International Circular Economy Exhibition 2016 at the China National Convention Center, where Commissioner Vella delivered the opening speech. At the EU-China Forum towards a circular economy, Ms Ma Rong, Deputy Director General of the Department of Resource Conservation and Environmental Protection at the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) gave a speech on the achievements of China’s circular economy development. Director General Daniel Calleja talked about the EU’s circular economy package and implementation. During the seminar, Mr Philippe Van der Donckt, Business Development Umicore, also shared the experiences and expectations of Umicore on circular economy.
A Forum on circular economy technology innovation, investment and financing was also organized with speeches by Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), Fan Hengshan, Deputy Secretary of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), and Liao Xiaoqi, former Vice Minister of Commerce. A number of memorandums of understanding (MOUs) were singed. Finally, a visit was organized to Tus-Sound company at the State Green Industries Zone in Beijing.
During this mission, the EUCBA organized a seminar focused on Opportunities for Business – Green Technologies and Green Business Perspectives. Following an introduction by Gwenn Sonck, Secretary General of the EU-China Business Association (EUCBA), Bo Ji, Assistant Dean of Global Executive Education, Chief Representative for Europe Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (CKGSB), delivered a very interesting keynote speech entitled “China: From Red to Green”, on the development of China’s greentech market and the opportunities for Chinese businesses. Philip Bartley, Director of Development Solutions (Consortium Lead) and Reinout van Malenstein, China IPR SME Helpdesk gave presentations at the event on the protection of intellectual property rights (IPRs).
The Circular Economy Mission to Beijing was a real success in terms of number of participants: 79 representatives of 34 companies; 15 European business associations; 6 national business associations; 2 national research institutes; 4 national governmental organisations and 1 foundation. The EU-China Business Association (EUCBA), the EU Chamber of Commerce in China, the EU SME Centre in China, the Enterprise Europe Network partner in China (EU Project Innovation Centre – EUPIC) and the EU IPR Helpdesk were also part of the delegation.
The delegation comprised CEOs and industry representatives who between them represented 14 different nationalities (namely Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden and UK). Various sectors of the environmental industry were represented, including agro-biotechnology, chemicals, crop sciences, food and medical, luxury, sustainable construction, packaging, plastics, recycling, renewable energy, water and related services, waste management, IT, telecom, etc. There were also companies that offer engineering, urban planning or consultancy services.
The European companies present in the delegation employ more than 1.3 million employees and reach more than €535 billion in turnover. The combined turnover of the companies taking part is greater than the GDP of Sweden.
The European companies present in the delegation together with the European business associations, national business associations, national research institutes, national governmental organisations and foundations employ more than 6.3 million employees and reach €1315 billion in turnover. The combined turnover of the companies and business associations taking part is almost as large as the GDP of Spain.
Optimum Energy to boost production of lithium-ion automotive batteries
By : fcccadmin
Shaanxi J&R Optimum Energy Co, which started as a firefighting equipment manufacturer, used acquisitions to make inroads into the lithium-ion automotive battery and electric vehicle industry. It has acquired a 19.9% stake in Altura Mining, an Australian supplier of lithium raw materials, for AUD41.6 million. Altura will supply Optimum 10 million to 15 million metric tons annually of spodumene, a raw mineral which is a source for lithium-ion batteries. In China, the output of lithium-ion automotive batteries was 16.9 GWh in 2015, while the demand is projected to reach 125 GWh in 2020, according to Sinolink Securities Co. In addition, the company recently won a contract for 120 all-electric battery buses, worth CNY103 million from Jinzhou Public Transportation Corp, a bus company in Liaoning province. Li Yao, General Manager of Optimum, said: “New energy vehicles will be the company’s strategic focus. Based on this, we will expand into various related businesses in the future.” China’s output of electric vehicles was 276,000 in the first 10 months of 2016, up 98.1% from the same period last year, while sales more than doubled to 258,000, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) showed.
Three Australian casino employees arrested
By : fcccadmin
Three Australian employees of the casino firm Crown Resorts, who were detained last month on suspicion of violating strict Chinese gambling regulations, will be prosecuted. Casino gambling is illegal in China and agents are banned from organizing groups of more than 10 mainland citizens to gamble abroad. Under Chinese law, anyone who “runs a gambling house or makes gambling his or her profession” can face up to three years in prison. The three Australians include the head of Crown’s VIP International team, Jason O’Connor, who was visiting China from company headquarters in Melbourne. Fifteen Chinese employees of Crown were also detained, but the status of their cases is not known.
PBOC orders banks to stop issuing dual-currency credit cards
By : fcccadmin
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has ordered the country’s banks to stop issuing credit cards that allow customers to transact purchases in dual currencies, in the latest move to plug regulatory gaps and stem capital flight while the renminbi continues to sink to an eight-year low. Credit cards issued in China with Visa or Mastercard must be replaced with those issued by the country’s dominant currency clearing company China UnionPay Co when they expire. Existing cards that offer dual-currency services can continue to be used until their expiration. Under new regulations, credit cards can be issued for either yuan-denominated transactions, or enabled for purchases in hard currency, carrying UnionPay’s logo. Visa and Mastercard must apply separately to commence credit card businesses in China. “These moves appear to be part of the continuing clamp down on capital outflows,” said Keith Pogson, Partner in EY’s financial services practice in Hong Kong. Dual currency services have been a feature among the credit cards issued by the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), China Construction Bank (CCB), Bank of Communications (BoCom), Pudong Development Bank (PDB), China Merchants Bank (CMB) and other lenders for at least 14 years. The service allowed Chinese consumers to shop overseas, using the worldwide network and currency clearing services operated by Visa and Mastercard. As UnionPay grows in size, and expands outside China to make the renminbi yuan accessible and usable, the Visa or Mastercard logo on the credit card becomes expendable, the South China Morning Post reports.
Vice Premier defends take-over of German firms
By : fcccadmin
Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong defended efforts by Chinese companies to take stakes in German companies, saying such deals benefitted both sides. “Concerns about a ‘sell-off of Germany’ are completely unfounded,” Liu said in Hamburg, days after news that U.S. authorities had recommended blocking the sale of German chip equipment maker Aixtron to China’s Fujian Grand Chip Investment Fund (FGC). Liu also warned the West against imposing anti-dumping duties against Chinese steel. So far this year, Chinese investors have agreed 47 deals to buy German targets, worth a total of €10.3 billion, according to Thomson Reuters data, up from 29 deals worth €263 million in 2015. Liu said that Chinese firms accounted for less than 1% of foreign investments in Germany, but German firms had invested considerably more in China.
- KURT VANDEPUTTE (UMICORE) APPOINTED CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD OF THE FLANDERS-CHINA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (FCCC)
- Webinar: “Knowing Your Chinese Partner” – May 26, 2021, 10 am – 12 am
- EMA starts rolling review of CoronaVac, WHO approves Sinopharm vaccine for emergency use
- The Global Times warns not to politicize the Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI)
- Hainan to become biggest duty-free market in the world