"We need China to win"

President of the China -Europe Chamber of Commerce: China is the "fitness club" of European companies, making us faster and better

In an interview with the Global Times, the Chinese EU Chamber of Commerce Chairman Woodkek said that Europe needs the victory and prosperity of China, and the two sides cannot decide with each other. He also said that the Chinese market is like the "fitness club" of European companies, forcing European companies to continue to learn and become "faster and better."

Woodkek made the above statement on the 6th Taihe Civilization Forum hosted by the Taihe Think Tank during the Taihe Think Tank. In March 2021, after the European Union sanctioned Chinese officials on Xinjiang issues and then China ’s subsequent sanctions against 10 European members as countermeasures, Sino -European relations turned sharply. The "China -Europe Comprehensive Investment Agreement", which consumed the business community of the two countries for many years, was frozen, and the voice of "deciring with China" in Europe was endless.

In this regard, Woodkek said that Europe cannot be decoupled with China, just as China cannot decide with Europe. Although the new crown pneumonia's epidemic has caused difficulties in personnel exchanges between the two sides, and the two parties have their own restrictions in some technical fields, overall decoupling does not really happen.

"We need China to win and prosper, because China is a huge market for us." He told the Global Times reporter that Europe not only needs China in the field of trade and investment, but also in the field of trade and investment. In terms of, Europe also needs to have more cooperation with China, especially the research and development field.

Woodkek described that China is like a "fitness club" of European companies. He explained that China has an incredible "picky" customer base, which has made European companies have to continue to become "better." "For example, most Chinese customers do not have too strong brand loyalty. In Germany, my grandfather bought a Mercedes and my dad bought a Mercedes -Benz, then I would naturally buy a Mercedes. But in China You will find that people don't want to have these flat cars anymore, they want a computer with wheels! "He believes that this allows European companies to learn a lot, which is very beneficial to the development of enterprises.

The European businessman said that European companies are still interested in the Chinese market. Statistics from the China -Europe Chamber of Commerce show that the top ten companies in Europe (including 5 German companies and 5 companies in European countries) still invest a lot of funds in China No one left.

However, he reminded that in recent years, the top ten European companies are investing in more regions such as Southeast Asia, and incremental investment in China has slowed down. He suggested that China should take more open measures to attract foreign investment that is compatible with its scale.

Regarding the "China -Europe Comprehensive Investment Agreement", Woodker said that the China -EU Chamber of Commerce has paid a lot of effort for the agreement in the past seven years. Although the United States put great pressure on this in December 2020, the two parties finally reached this share. "Proud and truly beneficial to Chinese and European business." However, in view of the small chances of canceling the sanctions on the other party, the agreement may not see the hope of restart in the next two to three years.

But he hopes that in a farther future, the agreement still has the hope of restarting. "In the Bible, we often have a few bad years before we can have a few good years. Maybe, we have to wait a few years before we will come."

He said that if European -China relations have a canvas, there are indeed some "dark dots" on the canvas, "but we should not entangle this, but we should see how much positive, colorful points can be put on again "". He said that there are different systems and different political views in Europe and China. Maybe some disputes are difficult to solve, but the two parties should stop preaching, stop accusing each other, and must find topics that jointly believe, such as carbon neutralization, scientific and technological research and development, and Biological diversity, etc., and promote cooperation in these fields.

He said that he is still optimistic about the cooperation reports of European -China relations, especially the economic and trade field, "our relationship is complicated, but there is also a very positive side."

Global Times-Global Network Reporter Bai Yunyi Li Aixin

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