The China Europe Business Alliance welcomes new members at the CIIE

'Link', 'innovation', 'stability', 'trust'... These are the 'hot words' at the China Europe Entrepreneurs Conference held by the China Europe Enterprise Alliance on November 6th. Representatives of Chinese and European entrepreneurs attending the conference jointly discussed how to leverage the complementary advantages of both sides, strengthen innovation collaboration, and strive to promote globalization and enhance stability.

The China Europe Entrepreneurs Conference, as an official supporting event of the CIIE, has become an important platform for deepening China Europe economic and trade cooperation by walking together with the CIIE. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the European Union. In the complex international situation, nearly 800 representatives from China and more than 20 European countries attended the conference, expressing their willingness and suggestions to eliminate barriers, address challenges, and create a better future together.

At the conference, the China Europe Business Alliance welcomed 12 new members, expanding its membership from 52 when it was established in 2021 to 120, including 50 Fortune 500 companies, becoming a driving force for the steady progress of China Europe economic and trade cooperation.

The Chairman of the Slovenian National Council, Marko Lotrici, stated that "trust is the strongest international currency" and that Slovenia and China have broad cooperation opportunities. He hopes that both sides can leverage their respective strengths, continuously create opportunities, and enhance cooperation.

Li Bin, Deputy Director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, stated that as a constructive force advocating multilateralism and open cooperation, China Europe economic and trade cooperation has shown strong endogenous momentum. In 2024, the trade volume of goods between China and Europe exceeded 780 billion US dollars, and continued to maintain a fast growth rate of 4.3% in the first three quarters of this year, always being important trading partners of each other.

In recent years, China has continuously sent positive signals to the world in terms of technological innovation and open cooperation, which has also added a beautiful background to China Europe economic and trade cooperation. Ling Ji, Deputy Minister of Commerce and Deputy Representative for International Trade Negotiations, stated that China's bilateral trade with over 10 European countries, including Spain, Denmark, and Hungary, has achieved rapid growth, with renewable energy, power batteries, and biopharmaceuticals becoming new investment growth points.

The scope of cooperation is constantly expanding, and the closeness is also constantly improving. Li Bin introduced that Chinese and European enterprises are accelerating the optimization of their international cooperation layout in industrial and supply chains, with a two-way investment stock of nearly 260 billion US dollars. In the past five years, the two sides have formed an inseparable relationship in areas such as green development, digital economy, and intelligent manufacturing.

Matthias Rebelius, a member of the board of directors of Siemens AG and CEO of Siemens Intelligent Infrastructure Group, stated that achieving greater breakthroughs in technologies such as artificial intelligence is an important direction for future cooperation between Siemens and Chinese enterprises.

Europe is a key region for Geely's global investment, and we have established styling design and engineering research and development centers in Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and other countries, "said Li Donghui, Vice Chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co., Ltd.

Enterprises cannot go global or bring in without the protection of financial platforms. Li Donghui said, "ICBC has provided comprehensive support in cross-border settlement, debt and equity financing, and relied on its branches and cooperation network in 12 European countries to help Geely build a localized industrial chain in Europe, providing solid support for Geely's development in areas such as intelligence, new energy innovation, and globalization

Liao Lin, Chairman of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, stated that as the chairman unit of the China Europe Enterprise Alliance, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has always been a firm supporter and active practitioner of China Europe economic and trade cooperation and financial cooperation. As an important link in China Europe cooperation, finance can further unleash the potential for cooperation between the two sides in strengthening the interconnectivity of financial infrastructure, promoting mutual recognition and learning of financial industry standards, and promoting global financial system cooperation and governance.

Former Director General of the World Trade Organization, Pascal Lamy, stated that China and the European Union share similarities in terms of large economic scale and pursuit of green development. Further openness and cooperation in trade and investment between the two sides can not only promote the development of China and Europe, but also make positive contributions to global economic and trade stability and growth.