Post Event: Seminar “How to Engage Government as an SME” at Manuli in Suzhou

Dear Members and Friends of CICC,

The China-Italy Chamber of Commerce (CICC) is glad to inform you that, on March 19th, 2021, CICC organised a seminar "How to Engage Government as an SME” in collaboration with EU SME Centre at Manuli Hydraulics (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.

Riccardo Campanile, CICC Suzhou Board Member moderated the meeting by starting with a brief introduction of CICC and EU SME Centre.

Matteo Zhi, Senior Partner of D’Andrea and Partners Legal Counsel, a former Government Officer, spoke about how SME's shall act when facing the government as a controller, for that he listed down different possibilities of inspections companies may receive from such as Market Supervision and Management Bureau (MSA) - former FDA, AIC and QSA merged in one, Ecological Environment Bureau, Safety Production Department, Anti-fire Department, and Hazardous Materials Disposal Department of Emergency Management Bureau (EMB), Tax Bureau, Labor, and Social Insurance Bureau, Public Security Bureau, etc. and he also shared his practical suggestions on what to do when receiving such inspections and what documents you could be requested to sign.

For facing the government as a supporter, he also listed down departments that you may get support from such as Investment Promotion Bureau, Bureau of Commerce, Foreign Affairs Office, Economic Development Commission, Economic Development Zone, Scientific, and Technology Commission, etc. Companies could obtain such as subsidies, innovation funds, qualifications which may favor the taxation treatment or provide subsidies, support on foreign affairs, and coordination with different offices.

Paula Yu, Deputy GM of Modula (China) Automation Equipment Co., Ltd., shared her experience at MODULA on different incentive projects for foreign companies such as on investment, tax, R&D platform, and direct investment.

She introduced to the audience what are the most common subsidies and incentives and how to interact with the government for such subsidies and incentives. And she also explained in detail basic conditions on applying for High Tech Enterprises, why they applied, and how to proceed, what’s more, she also shared some notes. Paula also shared how to involve technical, financial, and R&D Departments to make the project running and achieving success. She especially talked about how to improve efficiency when communicating with the government.

Giuseppe Ceppodomo, General Manager Asia, SOGEFI Suspension Components BU emphasized that there are always incentives, from nationwide, provincial, municipality, district, and to the Industrial Zone where your company is located. Being an automotive manufacturing company, he gave examples of what types of incentives SOGEFI may get such as product innovation, higher level of manufacturing technology, i.e. automation, process optimization, and control, and patents & innovation projects, presence in the company of talents, mainly in R&D dept., and management team, and cooperation with universities and government.

He also shared from what sources SOGEFI gets such information and gave examples on how SOGEFI implements. He highlighted that such implements require cross-function involvement, managing government visits, and it happened that additional information or changes are also required.

The Q&A session was moderated by Dr. Frans van Gunsteren on facing the government as a partner. He shared his experience back at Shell on cooperation projects with the government. And he also shared experiences on cooperation with the government on environmental protection and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Mr. Uwe Thoenniss, CEO of Brueckner Group China Co., Ltd. shared with the audience his experience on Authorized Economic Operator (AEO). Questions from both online and offline were raised and answered.

The seminar ended with a brief Introduction of Manuli Hydraulics (Suzhou) Co., Ltd. made by Luca Pozzi, Manuli General Manager, China & South East Asia. Manuli Hydraulics (Suzhou) is today a pillar of the Manuli Rubber Industries manufacturing network. The Suzhou plant regularly supplies the international market with a wide hydraulic hose range, braid, and spiral reinforcement with both steel and textile wire.

Kind Regards,

CICC Team