30.04.2024 / EU Chamber of Commerce in China News

The recently published March/April 2024 edition of the Journal of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EURObiz) provides an overview of relevant topics with a potential impact on the trade and economic activities of EU companies in China.

The journal refers to signals sent by the PRC government during the presentation of the annual government work report that steps will be taken to open up more economic sectors to foreign investment. It is noted in the article that among the actions planned are further reducing the ‘negative list’ of sectors closed to foreign investment, as well as an easing of market access restrictions in a greater number of sectors. An action plan with 24 measures aiming to promote foreign investment, which was released on 19th March this year by the State Council, is also mentioned. The Chamber of Commerce further reports about its plans to unveil, in May 2024, the findings of a survey among its member companies aiming to discover how European businesses are faring in China.

Further details are available here (English language) : https://www.eurobiz.com.cn/more-positive-signals-some-promising-steps/

Another article in the journal focuses on the EU’s Foreign Subsidies Regulation enacted back in 2023 and its meaning for the EU companies with a business presence in China. The article discusses the impact of several types of regimes covered by the Regulation – the ex officio procedure, the M&A filing regime, and the public procurement filing regime. According to the article, given the foreign financial contributions thresholds established in the Regulation, it is possible that EU companies’ interactions with government entities in China may contribute to them triggering the filing thresholds. The publication also presents highlights from a European Commission document recapping the developments from the first 100 days after the Regulation was enforced.

Further details are available here (English language) : https://www.eurobiz.com.cn/the-eus-foreign-subsidies-regulation/

In a separate publication, the Chamber discusses how the Communication on the European Economic Security Strategy (EESS), published on 20 June 2023, is likely to affect EU companies. The publication refers to the main risks to economic security identified by the EC (risks to the resilience of supply chains, risks to physical and cyber infrastructure, risks related to technological security and risks related to exploiting economic dependencies), as well as to proposals for further defensive tools and measures. The article points out that the existing EU tools and the new proposals under the EESS are likely to have an impact on the China business of the EU companies in certain sectors and their investment considerations.

Further details are available here (English language) : https://www.eurobiz.com.cn/the-european-economic-security-strategy/

One of the articles covered in the Journal of the EU Chamber of Commerce in China highlights the accession of the PRC to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. Accession to the Convention took effect on 7th November 2023. With this step, the apostille replaced the previous two-step authentication process (applicable to documents within the scope of the convention). The article points out that prior to accession, the process of obtaining documents for use abroad took around 20 working days, but the process may now be completed in a few working days. It is predicted that the convention will cover about 70% of the commercial documents required for making an investment in China or for exporting from the country, i.e., the accession to the convention is expected to have a positive impact on the foreign investment environment. The article gives some practical tips to companies planning to take advantage of the Hague Apostille Convention procedures, such as: to familiarize themselves with the China’s laws and regulations relating to document authentication in advance; when preparing documents, to pay attention to additional verification requirements that may apply in China, including Chinese language translation requirements; etc.

Further details are available here (English language) : https://www.eurobiz.com.cn/china-joins-hague-apostille-convention/