EU SME Centre Services

Advocacy

The EU SME Centre’s advocacy activities aim at supporting the interests of European SMEs in China by creating a platform for exchanges between various relevant stakeholders and ensuring that the voices of European small businesses in China are heard. The Advocacy Platform operates in three major areas: information sharing, consolidation of feedback and dissemination and outreach.

Information sharing

Through its information sharing activities, the Advocacy Platform aims to build a space where relevant European stakeholders, be it small businesses, Embassies or industry can have access to information on key policies, market and business trends and can enjoy productive exchanges.

The Advocacy Platform has two main avenues for achieving these goals:

The Inter-Chamber SME Working Group

The Inter-Chamber Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Working Group(Inter-Chamber SME WG) was established in 2014 as a new advocacy element of the EU SME Centre with the objective of ensuring that the voice of European SMEs in China is heard. The Working Group acts as a channel where SME concerns over the business challenges faced in China can be expressed, mainly through the Inter-Chamber SME Working Group Position Paper. The Inter-Chamber SME WG also organises a series of regular working group meetings and policy meetings.

Participation in Working Group meetings is open to European SMEs and businesses, as well as European embassies, EU-funded projects and industry associations.

Some of our most recent Working Group meetings include:

  • 14 June 2023 | Tapping into China’s E-Commerce Ecosystem While Protecting Your IP
  • 12 April 2023 | Mapping the Development of the SME Environment in China in 2023
  • 24 November 2022 | Riding the Digitalisation Wave
  • 13 September 2022 | Sustainable Supply Chain Management
  • 21 July 2022 | Mapping the Development of the SME Environment in China in 2021
  • 30 May 2022 | Tax Updates for SMEs – 2022 Tax Regulations and Profit Repatriation Strategies
  • 13 May 2022 | Talent Attraction and Retention for SMEs
  • 25 January 2022 | Policy Interpretation – China’s 14th Five Year Plan for Promoting SME Development

Policy Meetings

Policy Meetings are events where experts provide debriefings on the latest trends on topics like Chinese policy and politics, economy, foreign relations, climate and technology.

Participation to Policy Meetings is open only to European institutional stakeholders like Embassies and Consulates, staff and board members from industry associations, and EU-funded projects.

Some of our most recent Policy Meetings include:

  • 19 December 2023 | EU-China Climate Collaboration in the Era of Poly-Crisis
  • 18 July 2023 | Current Policy Dynamics on State-Owned Enterprises and Private-Owned Enterprises
  • 9 March 2023 | Two Sessions 2023 Explained
  • 13 December 2022 | What’s Next for Sino-German Relations?
  • 24 October 2022 | Plus ça change or the start of something new? Decoding the 20th Party Congress
  • 27 September 2022 | Taking the Temperature of Cross-Strait Ties
  • 6 June 2022 | China’s Unified National Market: Towards Economic and Political Centralisation

Consolidation of Feedback

The Advocacy Platform collects information and facts about the challenges and problems faced by EU SMEs in China through the Inter-Chamber SME Working Group, and it also tracks SME policy developments. The results of this research are then consolidated into two major publications: the annual Inter-Chamber SME Working Group Position Paper and the SME Policy Environment Report.

Advocacy Publications

SME Position Paper 2023/2024

The Inter-Chamber SME Working Group Position Paper is the product of an annual process of extensive feedback gathering from European SMEs in China conducted through the Inter-Chamber SME Working Group. The Position Paper is our main vehicle for SME advocacy, as it contains the key concerns and recommendations from European SMEs on a given year.

SMEs in China: 2023 Policy Environment Report

The SME Policy Environment report sets out to provide an overview of the most significant developments affecting SMEs operating in the country throughout the past year. The structure of the report consists of an introduction to SMEs in China, an analysis of the current policy environment of SMEs in various areas and a conclusion. The SME Policy Environment Report is updated on an annual basis.

Dissemination and Outreach

The Advocacy Platform engages actively with relevant Chinese and European policymakers, both at the national and provincial/local level, in order to share its work and create awareness of the issues related to European SMEs in China.

Some of our outreach activities include:

  • Organisation and participation in both high- and working-level meetings with government representatives;
  • Participation in major conferences within and outside of China, and business-led seminars;
  • Submission of feedback on relevant draft regulations and legislations; and
  • Many others.

To find out more and take part in the Advocacy Platform, contact our Advocacy Manager Ester Cañada Amela or our Advocacy and Working Group Coordinator Susana Xu.

 

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