Windy Shao

    windysjf@hotmail.com

    MORE than half of the European businesses recently surveyed by the European Chamber of Commerce in China said the Golden Age is over for their investment here. “Now it is the Silver Age,” said Francine Hadjisotiriou, general manager of the European Chamber’s South China Chapter.

    Hadjisotiriou, from France, has been working in Shenzhen since 2006. “Ten years ago, China needed all types of investment. Things have changed as we now also see more and more Chinese investments being made in Europe.”

    Ten years ago, the chamber’s South China Chapter had fewer than 50 members. Now the number exceeds 300. But Hadjisotiriou said the companies are now facing more and more challenges.

    “China is a country that more and more companies are looking at. We can see that they not only want to produce here, but also want to sell their products here.”

    Hadjisotiriou called for reciprocity in bilateral investment relations, which is one of the highlights of the European Chamber’s European Business in China Position Paper 2016/17 (Position Paper), to be launched Sept. 27 at Shangri-la Hotel in Futian District.

    The paper, an annual publication, offers Chinese policymakers over 900 recommendations that draw directly from the expertise of the chamber’s more than 1,600 member companies.

    The paper includes a review of China’s 13th Five-Year Plan and its importance to the European business’ position in the Chinese market and calls for implementation of the reform policies that China announced in 2013.

    “What European investors would like in China is to be able to invest into all industries and acquire local companies without undue restrictions, like Chinese companies do in Europe. Let the market forces work,” she said.

    Hadjisotiriou said issues in the paper differ every year, citing intellectual property rights as an example. “Problems have not been solved completely, [but] concrete measures have been taken,” she said.

    She said the chamber works to ensure that the voice of European companies is heard and advocates for improvements to the business environment by providing actionable recommendations.

    She cited an example of the recent policy Shenzhen issued Aug. 19, on the use of fingerprint identification for clearing through immigration at the Shenzhen border, which was recommended in the chamber’s South China Position Paper in 2015.

    “I believe this is a very good step towards easing the flow of European executives doing business in South China,” she said.