The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce and Flanders Investment & Trade organized a webinar with the Flemish Economic Representatives in China on 9 July 2020. Marc Struyvelt in Beijing, Bart Boschmans in Shanghai and Eva Verstraelen, currently in quarantine in Xian before taking up her post in Guangzhou, explained how they experienced the past few months, described the situation in their locality, and discussed the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic for our Flemish exporters.

Ms Gwenn Sonck welcomed the Flemish Economic Representatives to the webinar. Despite Covid-19 the Chinese market is still offering opportunities to our Flemish exporters. It is important that every company has a China strategy and determines the possibilities of their goods and services in China through exports, e-commerce, licensing, investment or through cooperation with Chinese companies in Flanders. China is a very innovative and competitive market. It is important that our companies can react quickly in this fast-evolving market. Let me briefly introduce the role of our Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce. We work closely together with Flanders investment and Trade, a structural partner of our Chamber. The FCCC was established 15 years ago by the most important Belgian investors in China, including Bekaert, Barco, Umicore and Picanol. We aim to support Flemish companies doing business in China and Chinese companies in finding partnerships in Flanders. We regularly organize webinars on topics relevant to doing business in China. We also have a weekly newsletter informing you about China’s economy and trade. Under normal circumstances we also regularly receive Chinese delegations and hope to re-start this activity soon. We also advise companies about doing business in and with China.

Mr Bart Boschmans has been posted in Shanghai since April 2019. He joined FIT in 2013 following a career in the private sector. His first posting for FIT was in Stuttgart. FIT Shanghai evidently covers Shanghai and surrounding provinces including some important cities such as Suzhou, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Wuhan, Chengdu and Chongqing. Mr Boschmans explained that he read an article about the famous virus in December last year but gave it little thought. He returned to Belgium for Chinese New Year, stayed till mid-March, and returned to Shanghai just before the most stringent quarantine measures were implemented. Together with his family he stayed in quarantine for 14 days, luckily at home and not in a hotel as is currently the requirement. The number of cases in Shanghai was relatively limited at about 700 in such a giant metropolis. Shanghai never experienced a Wuhan-style lockdown, but an efficient testing and contact tracing system was set up to find suspected cases. Measures were strictly implemented and you could see the strong involvement of the people. We have been able to continue our services, Mr Boschmans explained, as FIT implemented digitalization early on and he could also resume traveling without much problems. Normal life has returned to Shanghai, but people are still wearing face masks in shops and on public transport. Restaurants are full again, but some businesses have disappeared and the retail sector is still suffering. Economically, China is expected to restart growth in the second quarter at 1.2 to 1.5%. But Chinese consumers are refraining from spending as they did before.

Mr Marc Struyvelt has been posted in Beijing since September 2019, his seventh consecutive posting. He covers North China and Mongolia. All Chinese New year festivities were canceled as of January 24 and quarantines were implemented. He also went to Belgium and returned to Beijing on March 14, spending 14 days in quarantine. Shops and restaurants reopened fairly quickly, thanks to the wearing of face masks, the use of alcohol gel, and the disciplined behavior of the Chinese. Important is also the huge number of people China is able to mobilize to control and coordinate everything. Until mid-April, there were only 594 corona cases and 8 deaths in Beijing, a city of more than 20 million. Since April 14, there were 56 days without any new cases, but still life had not been normalized. Business kept working on a rotating basis, no public activities were organized, and the bars remained closed. Mr Struyvelt could not resume traveling due to strict travel restrictions. In many hotels, foreigners were not allowed to check in. Following the 56 days of no new cases a relaxation was announced to commence on June 15, which was not carried out due to a new outbreak, which was actually worse than the first one in February-March. Everybody who wanted to leave Beijing needed to pass a nucleic acid test which was not required previously. Until the end of June there were 325 cases, and since July 6 there are again no new cases reported so the risk level may be lowered soon.

Ms Eva Verstraelen‘s flight to China was diverted to Xian due to the quarantine requirements. In Xian she was tested for Covid-19 and put in quarantine in a hotel without a fridge or airco. Ms Verstraelen started at FIT on May 1, following a 20-year career at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a diplomat and Consul, including in Beijing between 2006 and 2010. The quarantine in Xian is very strict and she is not allowed to leave her hotel room or have any outside contacts. Her meals are put outside her hotel room door three times a day. The hotel personnel is all wearing fully protective clothing. Also in Guangzhou there have been no new cases in the past weeks and life is returning back to normal.

Following the introductions, the economic representatives answered questions. Which sectors are considered a priority by the Chinese authorities? Mr Struyvelt: There are four large priority sectors. The first one is environment and cleantech under the slogan “blue skies, clean water and pure land”. In medicine and health, the focus is on disease prevention and treatment, and drugs and vaccine development. The greying of the population and care for the elderly is also important. Digitalization covers many things, including online video conferences, virtual trade fairs, and live-streaming, which is booming in China. The fourth priority sector is infrastructure, traditional ones such as high speed rail, but also what China calls “new infrastructure”, such as the development of the 5G network. By the end of 2020, there will be total 5G coverage in 300 Chinese cities. Also included in “new infrastructure” are new energy vehicles, artificial intelligence and industrial internet. What about the air quality? Air quality is constantly improving in Beijing thanks to the efforts of the authorities to close polluting industries.

Which sectors offer opportunities for Flemish SMEs as a result of Covid-19? Mr Boschmans: We need to be realistic, there are no miracle sectors where everything needs to come from abroad. Important is to continue focussing on your strong points as a company, while trying to make use of opportunities in the “new normal”. Mr Boschmans mentioned two trends: the low-touch economy, including online shopping, contactless delivery, the cashless society and tele-medicine. The trend towards autonomy in the semiconductor sector offers opportunities to suppliers. Mr Struyvelt mentioned sports and sport technology as a promising sector. FIT is planning to organize a sports mission to China next year as three big sports events are to be organized: the Universiad in Chengdu in 2021, the Asian Games in Guangzhou in 2022, and the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022. Due to Covid-19, Chinese consumers have become more interested in fitness and food supplements. Ms Verstraelen: There is an increasing interest in fresh food, such as fruits. Flemish pears are already a success story in China. Milk and dairy products also offer opportunities to Flemish companies. Investment in cold chain logistics is increasing.

What about opportunities in new regions? Mr Boschmans: Besides the Yangtze River Delta, Chengdu and Chongqing are also interesting areas as the entry points to Western China. A group business trip is planned to both cities in 2021 depending on the circumstances at that time. Ms Verstraelen: The Pearl River Delta is focussing on robotics and cleantech. We also need to keep an eye on the Hainan Free Port Zone. Mr Struyvelt: Through the I²PCC initiative, there are good relations between Flemish and Chinese provinces in the field of cleantech.

Which sectors are facing hard times due to Covid-19? Mr Boschmans: Anything related to hospitality and travel has been hit hard, including conferences and trade fairs. But as Chinese can’t currently travel abroad, they opt to spend their holidays in the country, leading to a hotel room occupancy of 60% to 70% in some tourist cities. Mr Struyvelt: The food sector has been hit recently as some imports have been halted. We also see a switch in sales channels from shops to online. Ms Verstraelen: The Chinese consumers are less inclined to spend money on luxury items.

Which are the most important challenges for our Flemish SMEs? Ms Verstraelen: As long as the borders remain closed, traveling is very difficult, certainly internationally, but currently travel to and from Beijing is also problematic. Companies which are now entering the Chinese market face challenges to build relations of trust and sign contracts. To the Chinese, personal contact is very important and this will be difficult in the coming weeks, but we are ready to assist Flemish companies. Mr Boschmans: In the current circumstances companies will be even more minding their expenditures and cash flow. Contacts will move further online. Through online fairs you can easily reach a huge audience. Some fairs are resuming, such as a beer fair in Wuhan. Mr Struyvelt: Flemish SMEs will need to reflect how to promote their new goods and services while the borders remain closed. They will need to present their products much more online such as through virtual stores on Tmall.

Is there a fast track for essential travel? Mr Struyvelt: Since March 28, foreigners are not allowed entry to China, with only a few exceptions such as diplomats. Also Belgian citizens with a valid residence permit are not allowed to return. People who are already living and working in China could apply to return, but recently only one in ten was successful. Business trips are still impossible. There is no information when there would be a relaxation. China is very strict domestically, I do not see them opening the borders to Europeans where in many countries there are still 80 or 100 new daily cases. I don’t expect business people to be able to travel to China before October or November.

How can a Flemish SME present its export story? Ms Verstraelen: Although the circumstances are difficult, the fundamental recommendations haven’t changed: make a detailed analysis of your strong and weak points, define which market you want to focus on, and which distribution channels you plan to use. Mr Boschmans: Remain in touch with your business partners and show your commitment even if you can’t travel. Mr Struyvelt: Don’t hesitate to use our services as an intermediary to remain in touch with your business partners.

Any golden tips to be successful in China? Mr Boschmans: Golden tips haven’t changed due to the pandemic, some of them you can find on the FIT website. WeChat is very important as communication medium in China. E-mail is used less frequently. A company needs to determine which area and market segment to focus on. Mr Struyvelt: Chinese are very good negotiators, so you need to be very well prepared. You need to be patient and determined. Contracts and regulations in China are rather vague so there is much room for interpretation. In Europe a contract is considered to be an end point, while in China it is much more a promise to cooperate. A contract can still be amended according to the requirements of the company. Personal relations are more important than the contract. Ms Verstraelen: It is important to be a good host. To the Chinese, hospitality is very important. Personally go to the airport to welcome your guests, don’t leave them alone, including after business hours. Exchanging gifts is also required.

What do you expect in the coming weeks and months and what will be your focus? Ms Verstraelen: After I – hopefully – arrive in Guangzhou on July 22, I will start visiting companies and building up contacts. Mr Boschmans: I will continue to build up my network, not only in Shanghai, but in other areas as well, and I will also be visiting fairs. In the fall FIT will start organizing virtual events and we advise businesses not to await the resumption of travel to be active. Mr Struyvelt: I hope the situation will return to normal soon, restrictions will be lifted and there will be no new outbreaks.

The first completely homegrown memory chips are currently in mass production in Shenzhen, breaking the foreign technology monopoly and serving as an alternative to imported chips, the Global Times reports. Powev Electronic Technology Co, a high-tech storage packaging and testing firm based in Shenzhen, is now producing memory chips and solid-state drives (SSDs) on a mass scale. The company’s chip lineup includes the first such products to be wholly domestically produced, with each integrated circuit and all production processes completed within China. The company’s products were first released on JD.com in May, and their sales have reached 25,000 on the platform. “The lineup was developed to resolve a supply bottleneck faced by the domestic IC industry,” said Deputy General Manager Zhang. The company said the chips and SSDs are used in personal computers and servers, and at least three domestic PC companies have incorporated the chips in their offerings. Powev’s products can now compete with most middle-end foreign memory chips in price and capacity. “For the mainstream storage chips market, we pose a strong competition to imported chips,” Zhang said. Although the price of the chips remains roughly the same compared to its foreign rivals, Zhang said it is important for Chinese companies to step into the highly exclusive market. The company’s business volume increased to CNY350 million in 2019, up from 2018’s CNY20 million.

The Suzhou Institute of Nano-tech and Nano-Bionics under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Sinano), along with the National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, have made a breakthrough in a new type of 5 nanometer (nm) laser lithography technology, which industry insiders believe could lay the foundation for research into a self-developed advanced lithography machine, a field in which China lags behind some developed Western countries. But they stressed that China remains “far away” from producing such a chip-making machine as there are still technological barriers. Lack of sufficient capital also presents an obstacle to translate the theoretical findings into production power. The new tech could be used to produce up to 500,000 special nano electrodes an hour. Xiang Ligang, a Beijing-based veteran industry analyst, told the Global Times that the new technology will equip Chinese researchers to make forays into making homegrown lithography machines. “But it will take years for China to close the gap with the advanced Western suppliers, in particular ASML,” Xiang said.

Chinese public cloud service providers such as Alibaba Cloud and Tencent Cloud have grown quickly thanks to surging demand for remote education and working due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and their competitiveness in global markets has increased. Due to a surge in the stock market, Alibaba Cloud said it had received requests for expanded capacity from several key Chinese brokers in order to deal with the current limited capacity and frequent delays in the trading system. In February, when the Covid-10 pandemic was severe in China, DingTalk, the Alibaba-owned chat, video-conferencing and task management tool saw its user base peaking when 200 million employees of about 10 million enterprises worked from home and about 50 million students started online courses. To deal with the rising demand, more than 10,000 cloud servers were additionally deployed in two hours, a record for the rapid expansion of Alibaba Cloud. “Chinese public cloud vendors have grasped the opportunity to expand their business in the country amid the epidemic, mainly triggered by online education and home-based work,” Liu Dingding, a Beijing-based internet analyst, told the Global Times. Chinese cloud computing players have nearly reached the level of their international peers like Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, according to Liu.

The visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to a big Tencent data center in Guizhou province also shows the government’s emphasis on developing “new infrastructure” projects. Due to its suitable climate and geographical conditions, together with favorable electricity prices, Guizhou has attracted world-leading tech companies to set up data centers in the region, which used to be one of the most impoverished provinces in China, but now is known as the home of “China’s Data Valley,” the Global Times reports.

Meanwhile, Google abandoned plans to offer a major new cloud service in China due in part to concerns over geopolitical tensions and the pandemic. The plan was part of the initiative known as “Isolated Region”, which sought to address nations’ desires to control data within their borders. Abandoning the initiative was considered a “massive strategy shift”. Alphabet’s Google is pouring money into cloud computing, part of a broader effort to find new sources of growth beyond advertising. While Amazon and Microsoft have sold their cloud services in mainland China, Google has not, the South China Morning Post adds.

Huawei has filed a number of trademarks related to its HarmonyOS in China, giving rise to speculation that the operating system developed to replace Google’s AndroidOS is making significant progress. Industry analysts said the Huawei Mate Watch could be the first smart-watch to use HarmonyOS, and that the OS is expected to be tested on more devices such as watches and computers before it can finally be used on Huawei smartphones. Ma Jihua, a veteran industry analyst, told the Global Times that Huawei already uses many of HarmonyOS’ functions for its P40 series, though the phones are still using Google’s AndroidOS. However, Ma said HarmonyOS was still not fully ready, as it was forcibly released under the U.S. crackdown on the firm, and there are still many issues to be fixed before it can be used on smartphones.

Huawei has unveiled its first product equipped with HarmonyOS – a new smart TV under its Honor brand. In May this year, the Trump administration moved to block global chip supplies to the already blacklisted Huawei. The company likely replaced Samsung as the world’s top smartphone maker in the second quarter, according to cn.nikkei.com. SK Securities estimated that from April through June, Huawei shipments stood at 55 million while Samsung’s reached 51 million, which means Huawei may for the first time be crowned No 1 in smartphone shipments.

There are an increasing number of foreign enterprises in China telecom operating sector. By the end of June this year, 266 foreign-invested enterprises had received relevant approvals. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued the licenses for 213 enterprises, with a total of 324 business operating permits, while 53 enterprises in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone got approval from the Shanghai Communications Administration, with 61 business permits. Online data and transaction processing, information service and domestic call center businesses accounted for 85% of the operating permits.

China will add up to nine magnetic levitation railroads of over 1,000 kilometers in total length in the long term to boost regional connectivity and high-end equipment manufacturing. They will include a tourist railway line in Yunnan province, and intercity passenger lines and urban mass transit lines in Shanxi, Xinjiang and Sichuan. China aims to run high-speed maglev trains at 600 km per hour by the end of this year. Zhejiang province announced it will invest CNY100 billion to build a maglev railroad connecting Hangzhou and Shanghai. It will take about 15 minutes to complete the 162-km journey, said Feng Hao, Researcher at the National Development and Reform Commission’s Institute of Comprehensive Transportation.

Compared with standard bullet trains, the high-speed maglev trains have advantages which include reduced noise and vibration, and lower maintenance costs because they do not use wheels but hover centimeters above the track through the use of magnets, avoiding friction. Aside from the Yangtze River Delta region, the Development and Reform Commission of Shenzhen plans to introduce maglev rail lines to the Second Guangzhou-Shenzhen High Speed Railway to ease the operational pressure of regular and bullet trains in the area. The Second Guangzhou-Shenzhen High Speed Railway is to be built in 2025 and is expected to be completed in 2030. Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, also intends to launch maglev services between the city and Chongqing in the future.

China Railway Rolling Stock Corp, the country’s largest rolling stock manufacturer by production volume, is also developing wheel technology-based high-speed trains. The Europeans and Canadians have failed to compete with China in this field in recent years, said Chen Jian, Professor specializing in railways at Chongqing Jiaotong University. Japan remains a strong rival though in developing regular bullet and high-speed maglev trains. It has successfully tested 500 km/h and 603 km/h maglev trains with cryogenic superconducting technologies in recent years. Japan plans to build a high-speed maglev train line between Tokyo and Nagoya in 2027 or later. In addition to three existing maglev railroads in Beijing, Shanghai and Changsha, two short-distance low-speed maglev railways are being constructed in Qingyuan, Guangdong province, and Fenghuang county, Hunan province. Both are scheduled to be operational in 2021. China laid a total of 1,178 km of new railway lines, including 605 km of high-speed lines in the first half of this year. The country plans to lay at least 4,400 km of new railway lines in 2020, including 2,300 km of high-speed lines, the China Daily reports.

In other railway news, China plans to invest CNY200 million to build China-Europe railway distribution hubs in five cities to better use railway resources and reduce costs, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country’s top economic planner. The five cities – Chengdu, Zhengzhou, Chongqing, Xian and Urumqi – are all major cities for China-Europe freight train services or key logistics channels. As more cities start to run freight trains between China and Europe, intensive competition has emerged in transportation prices and railway resources, said Wu Jingyu, Director of the Asia-Europe land bridge international freight train coordination service center, at the China Communications and Transportation Association.

The construction of transportation hubs will enable cities to share resources, cut costs and improve efficiency. According to Wang Guowen, Director of the Center for Logistics and Supply Chain Management at the Shenzhen-based think tank China Development Institute, most China-Europe freight trains pass through Urumqi without stopping, and the establishment of the new hub will enable domestic and foreign goods to travel on the trains at the same time to reduce costs. Wang also suggested that part of the CNY200 million in funding be used to build platforms for information sharing and coordinate trains running among the five cities, the China Daily reports.

China and the U.S. have achieved progress in the implementation of their phase one trade deal, despite delays in certain imports due to technical and supply issues on the U.S. side due to Covid-19, the Global Times reports. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and over 40 trade associations urged top Chinese and U.S. officials, including Chinese Vice Premier Liu He, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to redouble efforts to implement the phase one trade agreement. In a letter, the groups urged a significant increase in China’s purchases of U.S. goods and services, noting that combating the coronavirus pandemic and restoring global growth partially depend upon the successful implementation of the trade deal.

Supplies may be held up due to epidemic prevention measures. In late June, China’s customs administration announced that it had suspended imports of poultry products from a plant owned by U.S.-based meat processing firm Tyson over a cluster of Covid-19 cases. Data compiled by news website marketwatch.com shows that as of May, China’s energy purchases only amountto 18% of the annual target. U.S. exports data show that China has purchased USD2 billion in energy products from the U.S. as of May.

Under the phase one trade deal signed in January, Beijing pledged to buy at least USD200 billion in additional U.S. goods and services over two years, while Washington agreed to roll back tariffs on Chinese goods in stages. Implementation of U.S. sanctions due to alleged human rights violations in Tibet and Xinjiang and restrictions of freedom in Hong Kong may have a negative impact on the trade deal.

China-U.S. relations, “one of the most consequential bilateral relationships in the world,” are faced with “the most severe challenge since the establishment of diplomatic ties,” Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned at the China-U.S. Think Tanks Media Online Forum last week. Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger also attended the forum. From the trade war and competition in the field of high-tech, such as 5G, to military tensions in the South China Sea and the Taiwan problem, as well as the war of words on the Covid-19 pandemic, the two countries have been competing and struggling in almost every aspect in recent years.

As the U.S.-China trade war has now been ongoing for two years – the U.S. first raised tariffs on July 6, 2018 – U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said he didn’t know what the end goal was. “That’s a damning admission and confirms the suspicion of many that the Trump administration’s trade policy is all tactics and no strategy,” said Scott Kennedy, China Business Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “Unilateral across-the-board tariffs got China to the negotiating table. But because they were not done in concert with anyone else or together with other policies, the results were rather meagre,” Kennedy added. The U.S. trade deficit with China eased to USD26.96 billion in May, compared to USD33.71 billion in June 2018, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.

U.S. President Donald Trump last week hinted he has lost interest in a potential phase two trade deal with China. “I don’t think about it now,” Trump said when asked about the possibility of another deal, adding that the U.S.-China relationship “has been severely damaged”.

For the first time in six years, Shanghai has become one of the world’s top three shipping centers, an industry report showed. Shanghai ranked third in the 2020 Xinhua-Baltic Exchange International Shipping Center Development Index, second only to Singapore and London. The report measures port facilities, shipping services and comprehensive shipping resources. Analysts said Shanghai’s ranking was due to its improved soft power in terms of enhanced high-end shipping services. “In recent years, China has also been attaching importance to the development of shipping services and comprehensive shipping resources, striving to improve customs clearance efficiency and reduce logistics costs at ports,” Zhou Dequan, Research Fellow with the Shanghai International Shipping Institute, told the Global Times. Wu Minghua, a Shanghai-based independent shipping industry analyst, said the change in the global top three ranking is significant. Hong Kong moved up from third place before 2018 to second place in 2019, before falling out of the top three in 2020. “Shanghai now beats Hong Kong in many sub-indexes,” Wu said.

In the future, Shanghai is likely to surpass London and Singapore as the top international shipping center, Bai Ming, Research Fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, predicted. “Becoming an international shipping center represents a comprehensive manifestation of economic development and the level of opening up of a country,” Bai told the Global Times. Nearly half of the world’s top 100 container lines have opened branches in Shanghai while the municipality’s shipping and cargo insurance business accounted for about one-quarter of the national total with world-leading business volumes. In addition to Shanghai, Chinese cities including Zhoushan in Zhejiang province, Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province and Qingdao in Shandong province, were placed at 11, 13 and 15.

Analysts said that Shanghai has many areas where it must improve before it can challenge London, the leader in global high-end shipping services, or Singapore, which boasts all-round strengths. Wu said Shanghai still lags behind in maritime arbitration, insurance and finance. “In terms of maritime arbitration, for instance, Shanghai settled less than 100 cases last year while London settled several thousand, while Singapore remains the global shipping center of Asia,” Wu said, as reported by the Global Times.