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Self-Diagnosis Tool
Advice
China is a very complex market. Small and medium-sized businesses do not have the same resources as large multinational companies to sort through regulations, conduct due diligence and assess business opportunities and risks.
Through email, face-to-face or online meetings with in-house or external experts, we offer tailored and confidential technical assistance to any EU SMEs or business organisations in need. Our services are free.
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Advocacy
Gain insights and practical solutions on changes that impact your business, network with peers, and help lobby European and Chinese policymakers by joining the Inter-Chamber SME Working Group. Share your experiences and stay up to date with our events and publications.
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Training
For SMEs at every stage of business in China, we design flexible hybrid and online training programmes. Our training sessions and webinars are designed to share knowledge with SMEs as well as business support and trade promotion partners and their members.
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Self-Diagnosis Tool
Expanding your operations to China? Assess your readiness here. Test your knowledge on how to export, register products, select target markets, distribution channels, taxation and more, and receive recommended content on issues that matter to you.
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Publications
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Articles

Guidelines

Reports

Case Studies

Webinars

FAQs
Articles
Concise pieces of analysis with practical insights and interpretation of regulatory or market developments affecting EU SMEs.
Regularly published in business journals and media outlets, our articles are all in open access here.

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How to Navigate Intercultural Behaviour and Communication Effectively in China

article| 11 September 2024

Human Resources Business Basics

China Launches an Anti-Subsidy Investigation into Dairy Imports from the European Union

article| 28 August 2024

Food & Beverages Dairy

Guidelines
Detailed and practical “How to” instructions guiding EU SMEs in understanding and complying with market access requirements in various sectors.
Our guidelines come enriched with screenshots to take you through administrative processes step by step and FAQs tailored for EU SMEs.

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Guidelines on GACC/CIFER Registration for European F&B Establishments: 2024 Update

guideline| 22 July 2024

GACC CIFER Food & Beverages

Guidelines on Exporting Health Food to China

guideline| 18 May 2023

Healthcare Food supplements Health supplements

Reports
Comprehensive overviews of specific business sectors, our reports cover a wide range of areas such as market structure and key players, policy drivers and regulatory requirements, standards and certification, current data, future trends and directions.

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China’s Hazardous Waste Sector

report| 9 October 2024

Report Chemicals Green Development

SME Position Paper 2024/2025

report| 11 September 2024

Advocacy SME Position Paper Position Paper

Case Studies
Open-access studies, often based on one-to-one interviews, on specific EU SMEs with direct experience in the Chinese market, sharing insights on the challenges they encountered as well as recommendations for other European SMEs.

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Exprivia IT Solutions (Shanghai): A Leader in IT Services for International Players

case-study| 8 October 2024

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Case Study Series

ISCLEANAIR: A Pioneer in Air Pollution Abatement Technology

case-study| 1 February 2024

Green Development

Webinars
Our online seminars and workshops with expert speakers who expand on the topics covered in our reports, inform and guide businesses through China’s regulatory changes, trade fairs, due diligence steps, intellectual property right protection and more.
If you missed one of our events, you can access the recording and the slides here.

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Navigating the Chinese Market: Insights and Strategies

webinar| 11 October 2024

Market Access Business Basics

Stream the Sessions of the 2023 Understanding China Conference

webinar| 20 August 2024

Understanding China Conference

FAQs
Practical answers to the 68 most frequently asked questions we receive from business enquiries: selecting e-commerce platforms, registering a company in China, invoicing and paying the right taxes, getting products certified and hiring staff, the solution may be a click away.

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Partners
Our Partners

Service Providers

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Our Partners
The EU SME Centre has a network of partners located throughout Europe and China, sharing a common goal of facilitating trade and assisting companies in their internationalisation plans. You will find here all the organisations that are official partners of the EU SME Centre.

Our Partners

AEP – Associação Empresarial de Portugal

Headquartered in the city of Porto, AEP is the largest business association and chamber of commerce and industry in Portugal. AEP is an association run by business owners, for business owners, to harness the power of business potential.AEP is active in promoting, supporting and encouraging sustainable, profitable business growth. Especially through its activity to drive internationalisation and external promotion, AEP has been continually developing external promotion activities, including business missions, collective participation in international fairs and exhibitions of products.For more than 30 years, AEP has acted in more than 85 foreign markets in Europe, Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America, Asia, Middle East, United States and Canada, carrying out over 700 actions involving around 7000 companies.Over the years, AEP has become a leader in the support of the internationalisation strategy of Portuguese companies. Proof of this, since 2015, AEP has been part of the Enterprise Europe Network, the world’s largest support network for SMEs and startups with international ambitions, active in more than 40 countries, bringing together around 450 member organisations.The EEN is a very relevant internationalisation driver in Europe, supporting and connecting companies, bringing together firms to build new relationships, share best practices, foster new opportunities and provide practical support to help businesses trade globally.

Enterprise Ireland

Enterprise Ireland is the government organisation responsible for the development and growth of Irish enterprises in world markets. We work in partnership with Irish enterprises to help them start, grow, innovate and win export sales in global markets. In this way, we support sustainable economic growth, regional development and secure employment.

Service Providers
Small and medium-sized enterprises may have difficulty in finding service providers that understand their specific needs. You will find here our selection of companies with a track-record of working with SMEs in the Chinese market.

Service Providers

Seichin Consulting

Established in 2020 and headquartered in the Netherlands, Seichin Consulting is a service provider passionate about making a practical difference in the day-to-day work of international companies by solving cross-cultural and trade related misunderstandings, using analytics.When people from different cultures work together, they can create incredible synergies. However, when cultural clashes occur, they can lead to communication breakdowns and conflict. Intercultural management is the process of understanding and managing the dynamics between people from different cultures in order to achieve the positive outcomesSeichin Consulting is a consulting firm for innovative small and medium-sized enterprises seeking new opportunities when doing business abroad, getting them ready to do business in global markets like China. Doing business abroad, or even within a country is about bridging gaps and building strong business relationships with (global) customers . Every person or company has a story to tell. A story we listen to.Services we provide are about being ‘compliant’ and/or complying with the laws and regulations in global markets : Binding Tariff Information (BTI), necessary for product development;Binding Origin Information (BOI) necessary for determining the origin of goods;Interpreting and implementing trade agreements to support decision making (RoO, Trade in services, S&CM, SPS, TBT, Market access)Interpreting and implement international legislation to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.ICC Incoterms consultationDenied party screeningSanction and embargo checks on destination and transit countriesExport control classification of the goodsApplying for licenses for the export ,technical assistance and transit of so-called strategic goods (dual-use and military goods).Training and workshops (intercultural & international management)We assist EU business of all sizes expand and compete in global markets.Contact persons in Europe:Richard LoomansFounder and Managing Director (Europe)Phone: +31 (0) 619727314Languages : English, Dutch, GermanHaijie ZhouCorporate & International Relations Manager (Germany/China)Phone: +49 176 22700534Languages : German, Italian, Chinese (Mandarin)

VIRTUARCH

VIRTUARCH is an international award-winning Architecture, Interior Design and Project Management company with offices in China, Thailand and Switzerland specialized in workplaces (Industrial Buildings, R&D Facilities, Offices and Headquarter Buildings), as well as in the field of education (Kindergartens, Schools, Universities Vocational Training Centers, Adult Education). With over 20 years of experience, we have successfully designed and realized more than 500 projects in China and Asia for Multinational Corporations and Small and Medium-Sized Companies, often being Market Leaders and Hidden Champions in their fields.

Become a Partner
Our partnership programme has been designed to add value to the activities and services of our partners with the common goal of supporting SMEs interested in doing business in China.

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News & Events
Upcoming Events

Press Corner
Upcoming Events
Join our seminars offline and online, meet new investors and distributors for your products at roadshows, stay informed on trade fairs all over China. We organise activities for SMEs of all industries.

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15 October 2024

Get to Know China: Challenges and Opportunities for Polish SMEs in the Chinese Market

Event| Warsaw & Online

17 October 2024

Intellectual Property Protection in a Brave New Digital World: A Primer for SMEs

Event| Beijing & Online

Press Corner
All our announcements, open calls, and press releases on new partnerships, meetings and updates on the EU SME Centre’s services and activities.

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10 October 2024

Policy News for SMEs in China

This column aims to inform you of recent policy announcements made by China’s governmental agencies, with a selection made on…

30 September 2024

The 2024 SME Business Mission Connects Green Industry SMEs Exploring the Chinese Market

From 22 to 27 September 2024, the EU SME Centre took selected European SMEs and a trade promotion organisation active…
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Environnement SA – Selling Air Quality and Emissions Monitoring Systems in China

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case-study| 8 January 2012

Environnement SA is a French manufacturer of air quality monitoring and emission monitoring devices and systems. They first started to sell their products in the nineties before establishing a wholly owned subsidiary in 2009. Their key clients in China are government organisations and Engineering Procurement Construction companies (EPCs) who are attracted to Environnement SA’s high quality and internationally certified products and services.