Invitation: Inter-Chamber Working Group Meeting

The EU SME Centre, the European Union Chamber of Commerce and AccessPath are delighted to invite you to join our Inter-Chamber Working Group Meeting in order to discuss the challenges and opportunities for European companies – more concretely SMEs – in the ‘other tiers’.

The Working Group meeting will take place on the 8^th of June from 15:00to 17:00 in No. 40 Xiaoyun Road, Air ChinaCentury Towers, Podium building 5 Floor, Beijing, courtesy of KAPOK.

Event Details

Type: Working Group meeting

Date: Friday, 8th June 2018

Time:15:00 – 17:00

Location: KAPOK Office Space, No. 40 Xiaoyun Road, Air China Century Towers, Podium building 5 Floor, Chaoyang District, Beijing

Language: English

Admission: No charge but ONLY open to European SMEs and European intermediary organizations

Event Description

As a rule, most European companies intending to operate in China tend to first look at cities like Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou (also known as tier 1 cities)for business opportunities. Until recently, relatively little notice had been given to the urban centers that are actually poised to lead China’s economic growth, the ‘other tiers’.

Urban agglomerations of China

With the shift in the Chinese economy towards consumption and the increase in the incomes and purchasing power of the residents of non-tier 1 cities, these metropolises – roughly 170 of which have more than one million inhabitants –constitute fertile fields of development for well-informed companies with the necessary knowledge on how to tap on these opportunities.

Tentative Agenda

Registration and Cancellation

This meeting is available to European small and medium enterprises and SME intermediary organizations such as embassies or consulates, chambers of commerce and trade associations only. If you meet the criteria and would like to attend, please register by emailing sarah.wang@accesspath.com with the name and date of the event in the subject line and your company information. The deadline for registration is the 7^th of June COB.

Speakers

Sabrina Zhang

Sabrina Zhang, CPA, is the China National Tax Partner at Dezan Shira & Associates China offices. Sabrina is experienced in the fields of tax planning, corporate structuring, and accounting & financing issues relating to foreign-invested enterprises. She advises international investors in China on tax matters on a national basis. Sabrina has over 18 years of experience in accounting, auditing and tax advisory services to both international businesses in China and large domestic corporations. She joined Dezan Shira & Associates in 2001 and was made an equity partner in 2007.

Sabrina is also an in-demand speaker at international events on legal, tax and financial issues in China. She was bestowed the Star Speaker Award by Bloomberg BNA in 2014, an accreditation is given only to the top 5% of speakers who present at Bloomberg’s international events and conferences.

Sabrina earned her first bachelor’s degree in Accounting from China, and a masters degree in Commerce at the University of New South Wales, Australia. Sabrina has been qualified as a Chinese Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1997, and she joined CPA Australia as an associate member from 2005.

Jurriaan Meyer 

Of Dutch-Austrian origin, and educated in the USA and Switzerland, during twenty years in sales, operations and general management roles, Jurriaan Meyer has been working across traditional and emerging industries – from transport and logistics, automotive and IoT to pay media, online marketing, and e-commerce. Jurriaan lives and works in China since 2008and has mastered Mandarin as a business language (HSK 5 level).

Currently based in Jinan, the capital of Shandong province, Jurriaan is General Manager of SRCC Transit Technology Co. Ltd. ThisSino-Dutch joint venture produces propulsion and safety systems as well as cloud-based “Internet of Trains” technology for urban public transport. SRCC designs and delivers state of the art technology and tailor-made solutions for metro, tram, light bus/rail and monorail to Greater China where many cities have urban transport construction plans in the next decade.

With his own consultancy, Bridge2East, Jurriaan helps enterprises and governmental organizations in East and West to build the strategies and partnerships to prosper beyond their home markets.

About the EU SME Centre

The EU SME Centre helps European SMEs to get ready for China. Financed by the European Union, the Centre provides practical information, confidential advice, training and business tools to better equip SMEs to develop their business and tackle challenges faced in the Chinese market. The Centre is implemented by six partners – the China-Britain Business Council, the Benelux Chamber of Commerce, the China-Italy Chamber ofCommerce, the French Chamber of Commerce in China, EUROCHAMBRES and the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. To learn more about the EU SMECentre, visit www.eusmecentre.org.cn.

About AccessPath

AccessPath is committed to connecting the world’s innovative enterprises with the Chinese market by tracking the most cutting-edge technological developments and connecting foreign and Chinese companies through various events and activities. Our mission is to create a platform for introducing disruptive science and technology that has proved to be commercially successful in the Chinese market.

Our wide network allows us to do efficient matchmaking for foreign companies planning to find investors in China, form joint ventures with local companies, or setup WOFE/Representative Office, our experienced management team currently focuses on healthcare, pharmaceutical, clean energy, manufacturing, A.I., Fintech, education industries, etc.

For foreign companies that intend to enter into the Chinese market directly, AccessPath also provides business development consulting services for company registration, office leasing, employee recruitment, local accounting and taxation, PRC law, branding and marketing, and so on by cooperating with various professional organizations in the local market.

About Sponsor KAPOK

KAPOK China is a world’s leading office property and operation management provider. We started in 2014 and engaged in improving office building and industry park operation productivity from the customers’ perspective. We have achieved evident advantages in customer experience, leasing management, cost control, industrial support, and other fields. We provide competitive solutions, products, and services to our customers. At present, our business covers Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Qingdao, Wuhan, Fuzhou, Nanchang and other cities. KAPOK serves 4 Fortune top 500 companies and 6 China top 100 companies. We have formed a strategic partnership with IKEA and other well-known global enterprises, and in charge of their domestically office building site selection, designing, construction, leasing, operation with whole process operation and property management services. As a “property management organization oriented to operation”, we value operation productivity and revenues like proprietors and keep operating with several industries leading operation index.