SME Shanghai Government Dialogue: Thinking Small to Grow Big – Fostering a Stable Development Path for SMEs in China

Founder and Managing Partner of D’Andrea & Partners Legal Counsel, and Founder of DP Group.

Carlo Diego D’Andrea graduated in Law at the University of Teramo (Italy). He then obtained a Masters’ degree in Corporate Advisor at LUISS University in Rome and a Diploma in Chinese Studies at Nanjing Normal University and is a member of the Italian Bar Association.

Mr. D’Andrea arrived in China in 2005 and is fluent in Italian (mother tongue), English, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. He mainly deals with cross-border mergers and acquisitions, assistance in ODI/FDI and intellectual property rights.

He is also acting as National Vice President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China and Chairman of the Shanghai Chapter.

Dr. JIN Tieying, professor, is Director of the Policy Research Division of China International Cooperation Association of SMEs (CICASME). He received his Ph.D. degree in Economics from Renmin University of China in 2009 and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Liaoning University in 2004.

He has been engaged in the research and development promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises for a long time, published dozens of books and papers, and undertaken more than ten projects of national ministries and commissions.

Xue Feng is the President of Shanghai Foreign Investment Development Board (Shanghai Overseas Investment Development Board), known as ‘Invest Shanghai’.

He has served in the World Trade Organization Department of the Ministry of Commerce, P.R.C., and as Deputy Director of the Department of Trade in Services of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce (during which he also served as Assistant General Manager of National Base for International Cultural Trade (Shanghai)).

He has participated in the negotiations on China’s non-agricultural market access, non-tariff trade measures, trade facilitation and government procurement in the World Trade Organization. He participated in the negotiations on the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement. In SCOFCOM, he participated in the formulation and implementation of policies related to service trade in China and Shanghai, especially responsible for international cultural trade and service trade statistics. He is currently leading a team of Invest Shanghai specialised in promoting both inward and outbound investment projects, promoting the business environment of Shanghai as a whole, and formulating an investment promotion partnership both within Shanghai and around the world through his local team and its overseas representative offices in Los Angeles, London, Frankfurt, Osaka and Gothenburg.

Xiao Yang graduated from Renmin University of China and went to Kedge Business School in France in 2019 on an exchange programme, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree certificate. He masters three languages: Chinese, English and French.

He is currently working in the Shanghai Municipal Tax service, State Taxation Administration. He is the backbone of the tax bureau’s business. He has served as 12366 tax consultant and has a rich experience in communicating with enterprises and individual taxpayers. At present, he is mainly responsible for VAT and invoice-related policies and businesses, and has rich work experience in tax artificial intelligence consulting.

Ester Cañada Amela manages the Advocacy Platform at the EU SME Centre, an EU-funded project implemented by the European Chamber and four other partners. As a part of this work, she manages the Chamber’s Standards and Conformity Assessment Working Group, coordinates relations with European institutional stakeholders, and monitors and analyses relevant EU policies.

Ester holds a double masters’ degree in European and Asian Affairs from Sciences Po Paris and Fudan University, as well as a BA in Translation from the Autonomous University of Barcelona.

Ms Zipei Xu is National Vice Chair of the Environment Working Group at the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. She is the Marketing and Communication Manager at PowerCell Group. She is responsible for brand marketing strategy for the China market and PR relations.

PowerCell Group is a word leading fuel cell manufacturer with almost 30 years history. PowerCell Group develops clean hydrogen fuel cell stacks and system with high efficiency. With products running in six continents, PowerCell Group helps customers reach zero emission goals.

She has 7 years’ experience in renewable energy industry with market research across 10 countries. Zipei has hands-on experience on renewable energy projects in transportation and stationary fields.

She is leading the team to achieve a strong brand position in fuel cell industry by building a sustainable and high-quality brand reputation in China market.

Michael Kruppe is the CEO and General Manager at SNIEC (Shanghai New International Expo Centre). He serves as board member in several prominent organisations, including the German Centre of Commerce and Trade Shanghai, the UFI Global Exhibition Association, the Asian Exhibition Association (AFECA), the German Chamber of Commerce East China, and holds positions as the Vice Chair of the Chinese Venue Association and Chair of the Pudong Modern Industry Association. Michael’s career is further distinguished by prestigious awards, including the 2017 Shanghai Magnolia Award presented by Han Zheng, the title of “Person of the Year in the Exhibition Industry” in 2018, and the Honorary Shanghai Magnolia Award bestowed by Mayor Gong Zheng in 2021.

Prior to his role at SNIEC, Michael was the General Manager for German and Irish companies in China from 2002 to 2013. During this period, he played a vital role in formulating and executing sales and marketing strategies across China and Asia, with a primary focus on multinational corporations targeting both local and international markets. His responsibilities included overseeing the establishment of two substantial factories and operations in Shanghai, alongside actively participating in the planning and execution of exhibitions.

Nathalie has more than 10 years of energy field experience. She specialises in sustainability and energy project coordination. She is currently managing the operations of Terao in Asia. She manages Carbon footprint assessment projects for the operations of European companies in China as well as Building Sustainability projects involving Green Building Certification, Energy Efficiency & Low Carbon topics.

She holds a Master’s degree in International Energy Management from Tsinghua University, China & Mines ParisTech, France.

Ether Yin is the Co-founder and Head of Policy Research at Trivium China, a Beijing-based strategic advisory firm.

Before founding Trivium, Yin was the China analyst at BowerGroupAsia, a US strategic advisory firm, where he advised multinational companies on developments of China’s political and policy space. Previously, Yin was the senior consultant at North Head, a Beijing-based public affairs consultancy, where he advised multinational companies and foreign governmental organisations.