If the last few years have been disruptive, 2022 seems to announce a turning point for international companies’ activities in China. The geopolitical events of the first half of 2022 and the appearance of the omicron variant in China have had a key impact on Swiss companies’ expectations and views of China. This was evident from the annual business survey conducted every year since 2010 on the challenges and competitiveness of Swiss companies active in China.

Important new questions have arisen which, for many, necessitate a revision of the existing China strategies. This is further amplified with the decisions and policies communicated during the 20th Party Congress, an event that shapes China’s future for the short and mid-term.

This half-day conference, co-organized by the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Swiss Centers China and economiesuisse, brings clarity and the required knowledge for Swiss companies to reassess their China strategy and to successfully develop their business in China. It also serves as the first event to discuss the business impact of the 20th Party Congress.


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Programm Details

12:30
Registration & coffee
13:00
Welcome address
Felix Sutter, President SCCC
Ivo Menzinger, Board Member of SCCC
13:15
Welcome address and a brief overview of business impact by the 20th Party Congress
Chinese Ambassador H.E. WANG Shihting
13:30
Welcome address and a first analysis of the 20th CCP Party Congress for Swiss companies
Swiss Ambassador H.E. Juerg Burri
13:45
Eight Years FTA - The way forward
Simeon Probst, partner, PwC
14:00
General environment: what is new? Results of the 2022 Swiss Business in China Survey and possible underlying reasons
Nicolas Musy, Founder of the Swiss Centers and Founding Partner of China Integrated
14:20
Q&A session
14:50
Coffee break
15:20
2022 Developments in China - Impact on the Swiss economy
Rudolf Minsch, Deputy Chair of the Executive Board, Head of General Economic Policy & Education / Chief Economist at economiesuisse
15:50
Q&A session
16:00
Concrete cases on China strategy revised
Bernard Stefan, Corporate Vice President Zone Asia, Nestlé
Thomas Nägelin, CMO & Vice-CEO, Fraisa
16:20
Panel discussion and Q&A with the speakers
Moderator: Felix Sutter

Panelists: Rudolf Minsch, Nicolas Musy, Stefan Schmid, Markus Herrmann, Veronica Scotti
17:30
Closing remarks
Head of SECO, State Secretary Ms. Helene Budliger Artieda
17:45
Apéro Riche
Speakers
Felix Sutter

Felix Sutter

President SCCC, Founder and Partner, Succeed Consulting GmbH

Felix Sutter serves as the President of the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (SCCC) since 2015. He is the co-founder of Succeed Consulting GmbH with the mission of connecting innovative Swiss and Chinese companies, entrepreneurs and investors. Filix Sutter has been a Partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Switzerland for more than 19 years. He had also taken up overseas secondments as a Partner for PwC in Beijing and Singapore. He is engaged by PwC as a Business Consultant to support Asia Business Group activities.

Ivo Menzinger

Ivo Menzinger

Board Member SCCC, Head Europe, Middle East & Africa, Public Sector Solutions, Swiss Re Management Ltd.

Ivo Menzinger is Swiss Re's Managing Director for public sector business across Europe, Middle East & Africa and is based in Zurich. He held various key positions at Swiss Re over the past 24 years, including leading Swiss Re's Emerging Markets strategy efforts as well as establishing its public sector business activities across Asia-Pacific between 2012 and 2015 from Singapore. Ivo Menzinger is the Board Member in the Insurance Committee of SCCC.

Shihting WANG

Shihting WANG

Ambassador of People’s Republic of China to Switzerland

Shihting WANG  is the Ambassador of China to Switzerland since August 2020. He has served in the Department of African Affairs of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe, Chinese Embassy in South Africa, Chinese Embassy in Malawi, Chinese Embassy in Ghana. He was appointed as Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in South Africa in 2006, Counselor of the Department of African Affairs of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in 2008, Deputy Director General of the Department of African Affairs of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China in 2013, Ambassador to Malawi in 2015, Ambassador to Ghana in 2017.

Jürg Burri

Jürg Burri

Ambassador of Switzerland to People's Republic of China, Mongolia and DPRK

Jürg Burri is the Ambassador of Switzerland to People's Republic of China, Mongolia, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea since September 2022. Before his new tenure in Beijing, Jürg Burri was the Ambassador of Switzerland in Poland, Warsaw from 2018-2022. He previously served as minister and deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Switzerland in China from 2006-2009.

Simeon L. Probst

Simeon L. Probst

Partner, Customs & International Trade, PwC Switzerland

Simeon L. Probst is a Partner in PwC’s Tax team and leads the customs consulting practice of PwC Switzerland. Simeon is jurist and a Swiss certified Tax Expert with 22 years of experience in the area of Customs and VAT law. His main focus is the consulting of national and international companies regarding customs and foreign trade topics as well as VAT law.

Nicolas Musy

Nicolas Musy

Founder of China Integrated and the Swiss Centers China, CEO Alexander Hughes China

Nicolas Musy was the Project Manager and Managing Director of the first industrial Swiss SME in China, and Managing Director of LX Precision, the first Swiss precision turned parts enterprise established in China. He established and successfully implemented strategies for more than 100 companies and institutions. He has been working and residing in Shanghai since 1988.

Rudolf Minsch

Rudolf Minsch

Chief economist and Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board of economiesuisse

Rudolf Minsch is chief economist of economiesuisse, the top business organization in Switzerland. He is Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and leads the department of economic policy and education. He is still associated with the University of St. Gallen where he is a lecturer at the Executive School. Furthermore, he is a visiting professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Chur, Switzerland.

Bernhard Stefan

Bernhard Stefan

Deputy Zone Greater China, Corporate Vice President Nestlé SA

Bernhard Stefan joined the Nestlé Group in 2000 and is currently the Nestlé Greater China Deputy Zone Head. He is an experienced FMCG General Manager in developed and developing markets, with strong experience in successfully leading businesses to profitable growth, identifying and implementing major strategic initiatives and managing change management projects. Demonstrated capability in M&A, business development & integration, marketing, sales, eComm, distribution and operations.

Thomas Nägelin

Thomas Nägelin

Member of the Executive Board, CMO and Vice CEO of the FRAISA Group

Thomas Nägelin has been a member of the Executive Board, CMO and Vice CEO of the FRAISA Group, a leading Swiss manufacturer of cutting tools for metal cutting processing with over 500 employees, since 26 years. In this function, he leads the fortunes of the FRAISA sales companies in Germany, the US, China, Italy, and France. In addition to his engagement for the FRAISA Group, Thomas Nägelin is a Board Member of Swissmem, the leading association for SMEs and large companies in the Swiss tech industry, and a Board Member of the tech companies Schnyder AG, Simatec AG, Saphirwerke AG and Metoxit AG.

Stefan Schmid

Stefan Schmid

Partner, Leader China Business Group, PwC Switzerland

Stefan Schmid is the Swiss lead tax partner with over 20 years of professional experience in setting up international structures for multinational groups. His work focuses on implementing tax aligned business models (value chain transformation), location planning for inbound clients (location comparison studies) and assisting multinational groups with structuring their investment and business, implement and maintenance of intellectual property structures, claiming tax incentives and other benefits offered by the economic development programs of Switzerland.

Markus Herrmann

Markus Herrmann

Managing Director of China Marco Group (CMG)

Markus Herrmann, a Swiss-Chinese, is an experienced advisor to European corporate and public sector clients on the Chinese market and an expert in China’s economic, trade and S&T policies, political cooperation and government affairs strategies. Prior to CMG, he worked in various international companies including for BCG and Bayer in China. He is a Strategic Advisor Europe to Caixin Global and engaged in several board and advisory board roles including CEIBS Zurich, SCCC, UZH AOI, Swiss Forum on Foreign Policy and Stein am Rhein Symposium.

Veronica Scotti

Veronica Scotti

Chairperson Public Sector Solutions, Swiss Re Management Ltd.

Veronica Scotti was appointed Chairperson Public Sector Solutions (PSS) in July 2018. PSS is committed to helping national, provincial and municipal governments, public entities as well as international organisations develop innovative risk transfer solutions to strengthen societal resilience, both in advanced and developing economies. It promotes financial inclusion by improving access to insurance for riskexposed low-income communities.

Helene Budliger Artieda

Helene Budliger Artieda

Director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)

Helene Budliger Artieda has been director of the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) since 1 August 2022. Prior to that, she was Switzerland’s ambassador in Bangkok, Thailand, with additional accreditations to Cambodia and Laos. Until 2019, she held the same position in Pretoria, South Africa, with cross-accreditations to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mauritius and Namibia. From 2008 to 2015, Helene Budliger Artieda was head of the Directorate for Resources at the FDFA. In this capacity, she was advisor to the Head of Department on resource matters and a member of the FDFA Management Board.

China Strategies Revised – Beyond 2022
October 24, 2022
13:00-19:30
Swiss Re, Mythenquai 50/60, 8002 Zürich
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additional info

  • Registration is mandatory.
  • Substitutes for registered persons unable to attend are welcome, otherwise full no-show charge will be applied.
  • The conference with reception is kindly hosted by Swiss Re Mythenquai.