3rd Monthly Meeting of CICC Board of Directors Held on June 28th 2022

The Board of Directors of the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce met yesterday, June 28th 2022.

The meeting was opened by the Chairman, Paolo Bazzoni, who provided an update on the membership base and the main initiatives of the Chamber at the national level. The membership base continues to show a positive growth trend in all territories, reaching over 720 Members, + 22% on an annual basis. Among the main initiatives is “Italy meets China”, a new webinar series involving both institutional and corporate partners aimed at promoting Italian business in China and strengthening commercial cooperation with local partners in various key territories of the country. The webinar series has been launched with Yunnan Province as its first spotlight. It will then take you through the discovery of business insights in many other territories. Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Tianjin, Nanjing, Greater Bay Area, and many other second and third tier cities and provinces will be involved in the program in the coming months. To read the post event of the first session click here.

The meeting then focused on the various territories of China where the CICC carries out its actions. Updates were provided by Vice President Matteo Tanteri on the North China region; by Vice President Gaetano Cantalupo on the East China region; by Board Member Giacomo Bove on the Suzhou area; by Vice President Gianluca Luisi on the Southwest China region; and by Vice President Raphael Paul Cooper on the South China region.

Afterwards, the Secretary General, Renzo Isler, discussed with the Board Members the new updated regulation governing the Working Groups of the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce. The Board of Directors approved the new regulation, confirming the strategic role of the Working Groups in some key commercial sectors for Italian companies in China. The new regulation will soon be published on the Chamber's website.

Another central topic addressed during the meeting was international mobility, with a focus on the arrangement of charter flights for the summer season. Reservations are currently ongoing for the first Milan-Nanjing charter flight scheduled for July 17th, 2022. The priority window is now open for all CICC Members and Italian nationals, and will remain open until July 4th; from July 5th until July 11th reservations will be open to all categories until full booking, on a first-come first-served basis. For more details click here.
We are also pleased to inform that, starting from July 7th, reservations will open for the second Milan-Nanjing charter flight scheduled for August 9th (tentative date), following the same priority windows. Furthermore, as regards the third charter flight in September, reservations are expected to open on August 17th. More details on our channels will follow.
Charter flights are organized by the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce and the Embassy of Italy to the P.R.C., in cooperation with NEOS Air.

The Secretary General, Renzo Isler, then provided an update on the activities of the EU SME Centre, of which CICC is the leading consortium partner. As a major European Union project, which in recent years has contributed to share knowledge, give advice and promote advocacy for all European Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, the EU SME Centre will conclude its Phase III on June 30th. Phase IV will open from July 1st, with the China-Italy Chamber of Commerce still in the role of leading consortium partner, flanked by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC), the Italy China Council Foundation (ICCF) (born from the merger of Fondazione Italia Cina and Camera di Commercio Italo Cinese), and the Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (SPI).

Finally, the board agreed to launch a third survey aimed at investigating the state of the business after the lockdown implemented in recent months. The survey is expected to be conducted in July.

The next board meeting is scheduled for July 28th.