Dear Members and Friends

This is a special newsletter for many reasons. Read on and you will see why.

Since May 2016, this is the 90th edition of the SCCC newsletter, which, except for the summer break, informs our members on a monthly basis about issues, trends, events, and matters of interest to the stakeholders of the Swiss Chinese Chamber of Commerce.

In 8 years – what a great number in the Chinese cultural context – we’ve grown from a few hundred readers to more than 4,500 email addresses that receive the newsletter on the first working day of each month. This is more than we have members, which shows that the newsletter has a reach beyond the SCCC to stakeholders in other organizations and government institutions interested in Swiss-Chinese business relations. This is a remarkable achievement that is only possible thanks to the feedback we receive from you, which enables us to improve, stay relevant, and create value for the recipients of our newsletter. When you add the forwarding of the newsletter and its online availability, we have an even greater reach.

Over the past eight years, China’s economic environment has undergone many changes. Despite numerous challenges, Swiss companies have adapted well and remained relevant. Whether it was sudden regulatory changes that tested their flexibility and adaptability, or currency trends that made it harder for Swiss products to compete with those from other countries and domestic competitors in China, Swiss companies have consistently demonstrated their ability to innovate and thrive.

Swiss companies have stayed the course, maintained their presence, and protected their values and corporate culture. If you travel to China and engage with our sister organizations SwissCham in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong, or with the Swiss Clubs in various cities, you will see the strong presence of the Swiss heritage of quality, service, and innovation.

Listening to the voices in the Swiss political institutions, be it at the national or cantonal level, one can observe a disconnect between the economic reality and the perception in these institutions. The disconnect seems to be based on a lack of first-hand experience of the impact of Swiss companies in China and the economic benefits that Swiss companies’ economic engagement brings back to Switzerland. It is not just about employment and tax benefits. You have to understand the ever-increasing challenges faced by Chinese companies and innovators. They are forcing Swiss companies and entrepreneurs to be even more creative and faster to market – a remarkable contribution to maintaining Switzerland’s global leadership in innovation. The impact of Swiss business culture and values in China cannot be overstated.

At this crucial moment for the Chinese economy, when salaries and jobs are being cut – for the first time in China in decades, if not ever – the employees of Swiss companies based in China can feel the difference. Their knowledge and value to their organizations are highly respected, giving them a sense of security that encourages them to do their best. So, everyone wins – the China-based employees, the Swiss entrepreneurs and companies in China, AND their employees and headquarters in Switzerland, enabling tax payments from profits and employment that allow us to maintain our world-leading standard of living in Switzerland.

Going forward, the economic bridge between China and Switzerland will have to accommodate different modes of exchange and transport. Cooperation between the world’s leading innovator and one of the world’s largest consumer markets is a way that seems to be able to navigate the fast-moving and direction-changing geopolitics. There will be challenges and hurdles ahead, but as the old China hands will tell you, this has always been and will always be the way to work with or in China.

Later this week we have the AGM on 7 June. If you have not already signed up, here is the link to the last-minute registration. There will be prominent guests as well as interesting breakout sessions. All at no cost to our members, so we are counting on as many members as possible to attend.

After 8 years and 8 months, Felix Sutter will hand over the presidency to his successor. This will be his last contribution to the monthly SCCC newsletter.

We wish you a successful run-up to the half year mark, the next newsletter will be published in early July.

Kind regards

Wú guī ju bù chéng fāng yuán.

Without standards, no boundaries are set.