Dear Members and Friends

As we send out this email, the May holidays in China are in full swing or coming to an end.

There are three major holidays in China, the most important being Chinese New Year. The second is the National Day holiday in October, known as Golden Week, which is often combined with the Moon Festival break. And the third most important is the May 1st holiday. This year, the Chinese government is putting a lot of emphasis on them to stimulate domestic consumption. The media is reporting on possible destinations and booking levels, clearly encouraging its citizens to travel. International flight schedules have reached a volume of almost 85% of 2019 levels. Even the Chinese President is using this period for a trip to Europe, including a visit to France.

The numbers we have received from China are encouraging in terms of growth. Reading the export figures, the volume is up but the value is down. Analysts are having a field day trying to make sense of these data: is the Chinese economy recovering with exports supporting the upswing, or are Chinese manufacturers cutting prices and therefore profits, limiting future investment capital? Foreign investment has fallen to rates not seen for decades, while the Chinese government is making efforts at national and regional level to accommodate the needs of foreign investors.

Potential foreign investors receive confusing signals. On the one hand, they are approached by government officials and departments with welcoming messages and events; on the other hand, they are made aware of recently introduced regulations and increased enforcement of new and existing policies that keep potential investors away from the shores of mainland China. This is coupled with a nationalistic sentiment against foreign brands, including verbal abuse of buyers of foreign-branded products as they leave stores.

As the Swiss Chinese Chamber of Commerce, we receive daily enquiries about the Chinese economy and questions relating to business decisions to be made or the consequences thereof. To this end, we have decided to use the General Assembly scheduled for June 7, 2024, to provide an update on the Chinese economy. Following the AGM, we will have four breakout sessions focusing on different aspects of the economy. Examples of topics include an overview and outlook of the Chinese economy, as well as an introduction to the implications of the ‘CBAM’ regulation and other EU related regulations that one must be aware of when doing business in the Chinese and European markets. Please make sure that you register for the AGM, we have found that some of the events have sold out early, even though we have catered for a higher number of attendees.

You will have noted, as a regular reader of the SCCC monthly newsletter, that we will host a fact-finding mission to China from June 23-28, 2024. There are still places available. This journey is designed for a deep dive into various industry sectors, experiencing manufacturing hotspots, discovering hidden champions, and benefiting from exclusive briefings by SwissCham China, Swiss entrepreneurs based in China, as well as government officials. Selective participation in the mission is possible.

May will be filled with holidays, inviting the creation of long weekends, making the month fly by quickly. We wish you relaxing long weekends while also achieving the business goals set for the month of May. The next newsletter will be published in early June, just before the AGM.

Kind regards

Hǎo jì xìng bù rú làn bǐ tóu.

The palest ink is better than the best memory.  ( To write them down is the best way of memorizing things. ）