The EU SME Centre and the European Chamber of Commerce in China are pleased to invite you to our next meeting, where SME Forum Chair and Consultant at Dezan Shira Marco Förster and EU SME Centre Advocacy Manager Ester Cañada Amela will discuss the key hurdles encountered by European SMEs in China, and how the EU SME Centre can support them grow in a challenging yet exciting market.
The meeting will take place on Thursday, 17th December from 15:30 to 16:30 (Beijing time) at the Dezan Shira offices in Guangzhou. Everybody knows that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of most – if not all – global economies, including the EU and China. SMEs are contributors to employment, drivers of innovation and creators of economic growth. At the same time, due to their limited resources, smaller companies tend suffer more from economic, trade and investment imbalances, market access issues and lack of level-playing field than their larger counterparts. In particular, European SMEs doing business in China are often faced with a dilemma: – on one hand, China is a large, attractive and increasingly relevant market for European businesses; – on the other hand there are considerable challenges linked to operating in an environment where there are still access issues, a lack of level playing field and regulatory hurdles. Aware of the growing importance of China as a global economy, the European Union set in 2010 the EU SME Centre, an EU-funded project implemented by five partners – including the European Chamber – that aims to support European SMEs to enter and operate in the Chinese market. If you would like to join this meeting, please feel free to reach out to Mr Peter Drucker at pdrucker@europeanchamber.com.cn before Wedensday 16 December 2020 COB. Speakers: Ms. Ester Cañada Amela: Advocacy and Working Group Coordinator | EU SME Centre With a background in languages and international relations, Ester is a reliable and adaptable professional with both working and academic experience in multiple countries. As part of the Advocacy team, she currently coordinates the advocacy activities of the EU SME Centre through liaising with business and government stakeholders, managing the Inter-Chamber SME Working Group, and producing reports on SME policies in China. Ester has a BA on Social and Institutional Translation from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, and a Double Master’s Degree on European Affairs and International Politics from Sciences Po Paris and Fudan University. Prior to joining the EU SME Centre, she had professional experiences in the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China and in the European Institute for the Mediterranean (IEMed). Mr. Marco Förster: Senior Associate at Dezan Shira Marco Förster is Dezan Shira & Associates’ Shenzhen-based International Business Advisory Associate. Growing up in Berlin and Hanoi, and by gaining on-the-ground China experience since 2014, Marco feels comfortable in projects involving multiple jurisdictions. He mainly advises corporate investors in setting up and growing their businesses in China and ASEAN. These services can range from pre-entry assessments to “China Plus One” strategies, and ongoing support in conjunction with DSA’s legal, tax, accounting, HR and payroll teams. Within the German Desk, Marco looks after the firm’s German, Austrian and Swiss accounts, oversees publications and business partnerships. Marco speaks fluent German, English, Mandarin, and Vietnamese, and studied economics and Chinese in Hangzhou and Beijing respectively. In 2018, he has joined the firm in Beijing and prior to that, he has gained consulting experience at other consultancies throughout Germany, China and Vietnam.
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