Chongqing - During the now concluded Chongqing Two Sessions, iChongqing scheduled a series of interviews with heads of foreign consulates in Chongqing, chairpersons of international commerce chambers, and some other foreigners who either work or live in the city.
In this episode of the series interviews, we invited the vice-chairman of the Southwest China Chapter of the European Union Chamber of Commerce (EUCOC), Dominik Widmer, to discuss the Chongqing Two Sessions and the Sino-EU Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI).
According to Dominik, one important expectation from the Chongqing Two Sessions is the currently widely discussed issue of the new "dual circulation" strategy from the Chamber's point of view.
The main purpose of the"Foreign Diplomats and Experts Eye Chongqing Two Sessions" program was to find out just how the "Chongqing Two Sessions," the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for Social and Economic Development of Chongqing Municipality, and the 2035 Long-Range Objectives are being perceived by the international community.
"We hope that, from the Chongqing Two Sessions, European businesses will get a clear understanding of what the new 'dual circulation' strategy means. And we expect the authorities of Chongqing to take positive measures to avoid any negative impact on Chongqing’s openness towards foreign investments."
Dominik highly appraised the municipal government's efforts in building Chongqing into an international logistics "super-hub," saying that the transportation networks link the city with the rest of China and with the world like no other city in southwest China. He also stressed the need for Chongqing to continue to build its practices on openness, transparency and more frequent communications with international chambers.
When asked about his general impression of the city and how he would recommend European companies to invest in Chongqing, he said that "the overall business and investment environment here in Chongqing for foreign companies is very favorable, especially from a logistics point of view, but also regarding available preferential policies."
As for the CAI project, Dominik believes that the agreement will be highly beneficial for collaborations between EU and Chinese companies in terms of better market access, a more level playing field, and better implementation of UN Sustainable development goals.
"Overall, we're convinced that the comprehensive agreement on investment between EU and China will improve bilateral relations in general, but also show the world that constructive engagement with China can produce positive results."
Regarding the differences and similarities between the CAI and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), another landmark trade deal China made late last year with 14 other countries around the Pacific Ocean, Dominik said that the geopolitical and economic implications of RCEP still applies to EU companies even though EU isn't part of the agreement.
The wide ranges of provisions on intellectual property rights, financial services, and e-commerce bring about promising impacts onto EU businesses and supply chains, he said. The agreement also signals the waning of the United States' influence in the region, giving space to more multilateral trade integrations in Asia, he added.
"We expect that both agreements, the RCEP and CAI, will have very positive implications on European business interests, in support of liberal trade, and towards a better investment environment in China and Asia."
Near the end of the interview, Dominik also revealed that the Southwest China Chapter of EUCOC would have two major events in 2021 that he's especially looking forward to, referring to the official launch of the European Chamber Investment Working Group in Southwest China and the write up of the Third Local Position Paper of the European Chamber Southwest China, which covers the "twin cities" of Chongqing and Chengdu.