Dear SCCC members

The year 2022 has already seen two important milestones: we have started the Year of the Tiger and concluded the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. While these were important events for the Chinese society and the world of sport, another important milestone will take place later in March, which is of political significance. The Chinese government’s ‘Two Sessions’ will be held in Beijing as usual. At this year’s meetings, China observers will need to pay attention to both personal decisions and decisions or announcements regarding policies, laws, and priority setting, as these March meetings will lead up to the Party Congress in autumn 2022. The Party Congress is held only every five years to elect and announce the Party leadership for the next five-year cycle.

Therefore, 2022 is a very action-packed year in the Chinese government’s calendar. That explains the nervousness of the government institutions about protecting the Chinese population from the Omicron variant of the Covid pandemic. There have been numerous outbreaks in mainland China, and Hong Kong has failed in its efforts to maintain a zero-case policy. In the coming months, we can expect an even more rigorous approach to contain these outbreaks. This will lead to a delay in opening the borders and easing travel and port customs restrictions.

The eventful year also means that the Chinese government’s focus is on maintaining the stability of society and the economy. The messages towards foreign countries, their actions, and geopolitical developments are therefore aimed more at domestic audiences than external ones. This is especially true for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. China’s balancing act will become more and more difficult and harder to explain to the various interest groups. For Swiss companies and their clients, the question is how to comply with the sanctions imposed by the EU, Switzerland, and many other countries – and at the same time comply with Chinese laws and regulations for exports to Russia. This will be a tricky affair, with not only a heightened risk for penalties in case sanctions are not adhered to, but also a negative impact on the brand image of companies.

As we all know, Chinese borders have been closed since February 2020, and business travel is severely restricted unless you accept lengthy quarantine periods. This has made it rather difficult to understand and monitor the markets and industry trends in China. To gain an understanding of the changing risk and opportunity landscape, a survey has been developed and launched by Swiss Centers China, SCCC, and Economiesuisse. The target audience are companies involved or interested in the Chinese markets.

Please take this opportunity to give us feedback on your own situation so that we can identify areas of concern and interest to you. This will help us allocate resources to support you and address your needs. You can access the survey via this link. The results will be available in Spring 2022 and will serve as input for the SCCC board and advisory committee meetings.

We wish you a healthy and successful March.

Yù sù zé bù dá

Don’t try to run before you can walk.