On 4 June 2025, the EU SME Centre organised the final conference for the project’s Phase IV, which ran from July 2022 to June 2025. Participants gathered onsite at the European Union Delegation in Beijing, at the Permanent Representation of Belgium to the EU in Brussels and online to review the Project’s activities and impacts over the past three years.
The session, moderated by Liam Jia, Team Leader at the EU SME Centre, and Frank Schmiedel, First Counsellor at the EU Delegation in China, started with opening remarks taking stock of the role and impacts of the Centre in Europe and in China.
Speakers included Mattias Lentz, Deputy Head of Mission, Delegation of the European Union to China; Giuseppe Casella, Head of Department at the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), European Commission; Fabrice Terrac, Deputy Head of Unit, International Value Chains at DG GROW, European Commission; Lorenzo Riccardi, Coordinator of the EU SME Centre Phase IV Consortium, and Chairman at the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce; Fabrizio Costa, Secretary General at the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce; Adam Dunnett, Secretary General at the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China; Marco Bettin, Director General at the Italy-China Council Foundation; Sara Medina, Member of the Board at Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação.
The speakers highlighted the importance of providing small and medium-sized enterprises with tailored assistance to achieve their full potential in international markets, especially when it comes to navigating the complexities of the Chinese market. They noted that initiatives for European SMEs in the Chinese market such as the EU SME Centre and the China IP SME Helpdesk were testament to the EU’s proactive approach.
The speakers emphasised the cooperation of EU-based and China-based consortium partners as an essential component of the reach and impacts achieved by the EU SME Centre, helping stakeholders to foster connections and networks with on-the-ground expertise.
The EU SME Centre team presented the activities conducted in Phase IV to further develop the full range of services provided by the Centre, including the Knowledge Centre, the Training Centre, the Advocacy Platform, and the outreach efforts to all stakeholders in EU Member States, in countries participating in the Competitiveness of SMEs’ strand of the Single Market Programme, as well as to SMEs already active in the Chinese market.
In the final part of the conference, associated partners of the EU SME Centre Phase IV Trade Promotion Europe, represented by Secretary General Flavie Guérin, and the EU-China Business Association, represented by Executive Director Gwenn Sonck, presented how the Centre’s activities have benefitted their members, trade promotion organisations and business support organisations across Europe.
The session closed with a preview by EU SME Centre Team Leader Liam Jia of the mission and objectives of the upcoming Phase V, which will further support European SMEs in the Chinese market from July 2025 to June 2028.
