President Wuttke Attended Meeting with Commerce Minister Wang Wentao

2022-04-18 | All chapters

On 18th April, eight foreign chambers of commerce were invited to participate in a roundtable discussion with the Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao to address the challenges foreign business in China have encountered over the past two years.

The main issue all chambers raised was the interruptions to supply chains and business operations caused by COVID lockdown measures, not only in Shanghai, but also in other regions such as Jilin Province and cities in the Yangtze Delta Region. Other short-term concerns as a result of the lockdowns include access to critical daily life products such as medicines and food, as well as untransparent, inconsistent and rapidly-changing COVID policies. Long-term concerns since the beginning of the outbreak of COVID in 2020 include international travel restrictions, difficulties in getting visas for employees and family members as well as international schoolteachers, and lengthy quarantine periods. The chamber representatives emphasised that not only do these COVID-related challenges create uncertainties for companies, in addition, the geopolitical environment is prompting many to put their investment plans in China on hold.

Minister Wang expressed his appreciation to all chambers for acting as a bridge between the government and foreign business. He acknowledged all the challenges and concerns of the foreign chambers and again thanked all the participants for their inputs.  Minister Wang reiterated that China’s reform and opening-up policy is a national policy and will never change. He said the Ministry of Commerce will continue to support foreign businesses’ development in China and called for the establishment of more frequent communications with foreign chambers and companies.