EU SME Centre activities and most services temporarily suspended until summer 2020

Dear Members and Friends,

The China-Italy Chamber of Commerce, implementing partner of EU SME Centre Phase II, is glad to share the following communication by EU SME Centre:

"Dear Partners and Friends,

The time has come that on April 6, 2020 the Centre will temporarily close as Phase II of the project ends. Activities and most services will be suspended until Phase III starts in summer 2020.
 
Before emphasizing on some highlights, I would like to express a huge “thank you” to the whole team of the EU SME Centre for all their effort and dedication that I have seen in the last 18 months that I have been the Director of the Centre. I am truly proud of the team and it has been a pleasure all along working with them.
 
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) play a crucial role in the European economy, and also in China. They are considered as crucial engines for growth and job creation.
 
China is a key market for trade and investment of EU SMEs and provides many business opportunities. However, access to the Chinese market is complex and the regulatory and business environment is changing very quickly: that is the reason why there remains a need to provide services to increase SMEs knowledge and raise their awareness on doing business in China.
 
Knowing that China and Europe trade on average over EUR 1 billion a day and China covers almost 20% of all EU imports, emphasizes the importance of a good knowledge of the Chinese market for all European companies involved.
 
Proudly we can state that the project has been a great success, developing over the years a widely recognized and consulted online "Knowledge Centre”, improving general understanding amongst EU SMEs about the Chinese market, business conditions and opportunities, and supporting the activities of EU SMEs planning to do business in China.
 
We would also like to thank our partners. Together we have built a strong partner network in Europe (and China) which has been a key factor to successfully reach SMEs exploring the Chinese market.
 
To continue the success of the project the Centre is now actively seeking new funding for a possible next phase which we expect to start from summer 2020.
 
Effectively this would mean that there will be no updates on our communication channels during the transition period. Our Website will stay online and available information will remain accessible for SME’s.
 
It was more than a pleasure to have been able to service you in the past few years and we sincerely trust we can continue to do this again as soon as possible.
 
Warmest regards,
 
On behalf of the EU SME Centre Team
 
Peter Pronk"

Kind Regards,

CICC Team