ECCT Webinar
Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) and decoupling global supply chains
Challenges facing European business in China

Guest speakers (via video conference call)
Bruno Weill, Chief Group Representative, BNP Paribas China
Jacob Gunter, Senior Policy and Communications Manager, European Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC)

10:30 – 12:00, Friday, 19 March 2021
Sign-in instructions will be emailed to all registered participants prior to the webinar

At the end of 2020, the European Union signed a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) with China. Both sides hailed the agreement as a marking a significant improvement in EU-China investment and trade relations. In particular, the EU said that it improved access in sectors like automotive, financial services, real estate, rental and leasing, and addresses issues such as labour rights, forced technology transfers and unfair competition, especially from Chinese state-owned enterprises. However, a recent report by the European Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) and the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS) titled “Decoupling: Severed Ties and Patchwork Globalisation”, cautions that some crucial and structural issues, are not addressed in the CAI, such as domestic procurement rules that discriminate against foreign investors or restrictions on cross border data flows. In addition, with regards to human rights and labour issues, the report says that China has so far only committed to “working towards” ratifying the missing International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions in the CAI.

Besides the domestic structural issues, European businesses in China are concerned about being caught in the crossfire of US-China trade tensions and being forced to have to choose between doing business with China or the US and its allies. According to the report, European firms are concerned that supplies of crucial components, such as semiconductors, could suddenly be cut off. Their main concern is that the US will attempt to halt Chinese involvement in any part of the technology ecosystem in the US.

At this event, our guest speakers will give an overview of its “Decoupling” report, examine the expected benefits and limitations of the CAI and give their views on how European companies operating in China will work to navigate the ongoing US-China trade tensions and increase the resilience of their supply chains globally.

The speakers will give presentations and answer questions from guests via video conference call from Beijing.

About the speakers

Bruno Weill has been the Chief Group Representative for China of BNP Paribas since November 2014. He contributes to the definition of the group’s strategy and coordinates all the activities of the group in China. He represents the group as a director or supervisor on the boards of most of BNP Paribas’ wholly owned legal entities and joint ventures in China. He is also the Group Executive Sponsor for a few of the group’s strategic clients in China. He has been with the BNP Paribas Group since 1989, starting as an Inspector with BNP Inspection Generale in Paris and joining Project Finance in 1993. Eventually he moved to Singapore and was promoted as Head of South East Asia and then Deputy Head Project Finance Asia, where he led the transformation of a small team into a department capable to originate, structure, lead-arrange and syndicate large complex projects. In 1999, he returned to Paris and was appointed as Global Senior Relationship Manager of large multinational companies. In 2004, he was named Head of Financial Institutions Group for Asia, Corporate and Investment Banking in BNP Paribas Hong Kong and led teams of investment bankers in seven countries.

Jacob Gunter is the Senior Policy and Communications Manager of the European Chamber of Commerce in China where he leads on a variety of publications, media issues, policy analysis and high-level messaging. He has led on and overseen key European Chamber publications, including thematic reports “Decoupling: Severed Ties and Patchwork Globalisation”, the BRI focused, “The Road Less Travelled”, and the audit of China’s reform agenda after President Xi’s Davos speech in 2017, 18 Months Since Davos, the 2018, 2019, and 2020 Executive Position Papers and Business Confidence Surveys, as well as many of the Chamber’s Local Position Papers. Prior to working at the European Chamber, Gunter completed his Masters’ degree in international studies at the Johns Hopkins-Nanjing University Centre for Sino-American Studies.

NT$250 for members and NT$250 for members' guest(s)
Note: Participation will be limited to 50 people
*To cancel without penalty, written cancellations must be received 24 hours prior to the event.

Contact: Fiona Lee / Tel: 2740-0236 216 / fiona.lee@ecct.com.tw