Dear Members and Friends

April is upon us, and its weather changes convey a sense of unpredictability. This reflects the current economic situation worldwide.

Last Friday's summit meeting between China and Europe, which takes place once a year, failed to produce a breakthrough on the issues that both sides considered important, namely China's role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ratification of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment.

Monitoring the sanctions is becoming an increasingly important task for the economic actors involved, especially as it seems that the atrocities will not end soon, and further sanctions could be imposed on trade with Russia. In addition, third party countries have imposed export bans on certain products such as raw materials for fertilizer production, which will further complicate trade and jeopardize globalized trade practices.

The unpredictability is also reflected in the lockdown of Shanghai, China's economic center. The strategy to reduce the impact by splitting the lockdown in a first phase to Puxi and in a second phase to Pudong had to be revised when more cases were detected. The spread of Omicron outbreaks throughout China will lead to further lockdowns and push available resources to their limits. It is likely that the current approach will be changed to a more practical one in which asymptomatic cases are not forcibly housed in central facilities until individuals test negative.

The pandemic situation in China will lead to further supply chain disruptions and will not abate soon. Unless China makes significant changes to its pandemic policy, we expect the situation to continue well into Q4 2022 or even into Q1 2023.

The chamber with its various board members and office personnel is closely monitoring the situation and will update its members when and where feasible. The interactions with stakeholders from the Swiss and Chinese government are used to exchange views and insights, as well as indicate the urgent needs of the SCCC members to the government bodies.

We wish you all the best for the Ching Ming (tomb sweeping) holidays and Easter holidays: moments to reflect on our past, our future, and our values that we apply in our daily interactions.

Sincerely,

Qiānlǐ zhī xíng, shǐyú zú xià.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.