The Beijing Paralympics was very successful for Finland, with the best results in 20 years. Two gold and two silver medals is a great achievement for a small country like Finland. Finland’s Embassy hosted a Paralympics’ side event with the theme of “Right to sport”, a cozy small event fitting this turbulent time perfectly. China received recognition not only for its successful arrangements, but also for becoming a “powerhouse of the Winter Paralympics” by claiming 61 medals to its name.

One of China’s main political events, the Two Sessions, was held in Beijing at the same time as the Paralympics. As China’s economy and trade is strongly policy driven, the key takeaways from Two Sessions have a significant impact. China’s economic development faces the pressure of shrinking demand, disrupted supply and weakening expectations. The GDP target for 2022 was set to 5.5%. Much lower than last year, but still perhaps difficult to reach in this current situation.

The main takeaway was to ensure stability and reasonable economic growth. For business, a few issues received the greatest focus. First, China sees the digital industry as a growth driver and aims to promote technological innovation, as well as optimize and upgrade industrialization by enhancing core competitiveness of the manufacturing industry - such as 5G, big data centers, artificial intelligence, industrial Internet, and industrial digitization. Second, the carbon neutrality targets. China has set two major carbon emissions goals: reaching peak carbon emission by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. The targets remain the same, but it is difficult to make fundamental changes in a coal-based energy structure in the short-term. That means that although renewable and green energy solutions are actively developed, the transformation may take longer than originally anticipated. Foreign quality trade and foreign direct investments were encouraged.

In China’s private sector many micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises as well as self-employed individuals are facing production and business operation troubles. According to the 2022 Government Work Report released during the 2022 Two Sessions (Read the report HERE), the additional R&D expense deduction ratio of technology-based small- and medium-sized enterprises (TSMEs) will be raised from 75 percent to 100 percent. More details are expected to be released in the coming months. Also, tax and fee reductions, for example VAT exemptions or reduction in corporate income taxes, were promised in order to support manufacturing, small and low-profit enterprises, and self-employed businesses.

Finnish companies see the future in the Chinese market as quite optimistic. The Finnish Business Confidence Survey done jointly by the Finnish Business Councils and FinnCham in Greater China revealed that around 70% expect revenue growth and slightly over 50% expect net profit growth this year. Furthermore, 39% of respondents plan to increase investments this year. China’s domestic market is huge and revenues are generated mainly from local markets. However, companies are worried about possible tensions between EU and China as it could worsen business opportunities and Covid-19 has already had a heavy impact on supply chains. Cross-border logistics has become increasingly slow and expensive. Read the whole survey HERE.

China continues its zero tolerance policy on Covid infections. The increasing number of Omicron cases has caused uncertainty among businesses due to lockdowns in many provinces. International travel is still limited to a minimum. The earliest relief to the situation is expected after the China Communist Party National Congress this coming autumn. However, we've done our best to continue business-as-usual given the current circumstances. Last Friday we held a workshop with Nokia to introduce their 5G solutions to local Finnish enterprises. Nokia is also our March guest writer. Scroll down to see the whole story. We are also coming to the end of our fiscal year. AGM is to be held at the end of April, for which invitations will be sent by the end of next week.

Let’s stay united and strong!

On the behalf of FBCB,

Ulla Nurmenniemi

Executive Director

Finnish Business Council Beijing

All of us would surely agree that the highly digitalized lifestyle in China resembles that of a science fiction movie. We experience this daily when using the wide range of sophisticated mobile applications to order didis, send wechats, or buy goods on Taobao. In addition to easing our daily lives with handy consumer applications, digitalization offers substantial benefits to the global economy by reducing carbon emissions, increasing productivity and providing more inclusive access to healthcare, markets and education. The industrial world, is therefore, in a pivotal moment in history as heavy-asset industries, governments and enterprise businesses accelerate their digital transformation journeys.

The current era of digital transformation is often referred to as the 4th industrial revolution or Industry 4.0. According to Nokia Bell Labs Consulting, the pandemic sped up the adoption of digital communications technologies by an average of six years. Industry 4.0 has taken a massive leap forward over the last 18 months as companies have adopted digital technologies to keep business moving despite the restrictions on physical interactions and supply chain disruptions. Many enterprises are now thinking about how else they can use those newly acquired capabilities — and redefining their industries in the process.

With over 30% of the world’s manufacturing and a government strategy strongly aiming toward world leadership in industrial digitalization., China will be a forerunner in driving the digitalization of physical industries. China’s 14th five-year plan lists industry digitalization as a key objective and encourages enterprises to deploy technologies including 5G, IOT and AI to digitalize their operations. China’s highly advanced ecosystem of application and industrial device providers, as well as the extensive 4G/5G network coverage provide the perfect opportunity for enterprises to kickoff their digitalization journeys and become showcases for the rest of the world.

The first step of Industry 4.0. digitalization is connecting all assets to enable data collection. However, many enterprises are recognizing that current network connectivity options cannot support future growth and process innovation in areas such as IoT and digital transformation. LAN cables and wired technologies are expensive, inflexible and immobile while various existing wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi, LoRa or Bluetooth simply do not meet the cost effectiveness, performance, or security requirements of Industry 4.0 critical operations. Companies are increasingly looking into 4G/5G wireless networks as the networking technology of choice and are implementing on-campus private wireless networks focused solely on the enterprises’ own OT (operations technology) needs with tailored coverage and dedicated capacity to securely connect industrial assets and workers.

 

Nokia is the undisputed world leader in private wireless networks. Nokia’s wireless network solutions have helped more than 420 customers globally for their digitalization, covering diversified industries including manufacturing, logistics, transportation, energy, etc. In China we are actively partnering with enterprises, telco operators and hyperscalers such as Alibaba to provide Industry 4.0. grade digitalization solutions. Our telco grade, secure networking solutions, 40 year experience in the China market and extensive experience in enterprise digitalization make us an ideal partner for companies looking to digitalize your operations.

 

The recent Nokia site visit on March 25th organized in cooperation with the Finnish Business Council of Beijing and Business Finland brought together companies from a wide range of verticals all sharing the same target of increasing digitalization to improve productivity, sustainability and quality of operations. It was exciting to see the interaction between the companies and hear about different digitalization initiatives. The success of industry 4.0 depends on a network of innovative partners and we welcome you to join our Nokia digital ecosystem and kick off your digitalization journey here in China - the hotspot of Industry 4.0. digitalization. #thereisnogreenwithoutdigital.

Finnish Business Council Beijing is part of Team Finland in China, and an outstanding platform for all Finnish businesses in China. For those companies which need more visibility, we have launched a Premium Membership. It's an upgrade from normal membership, as you can see from the table below.

For those companies in Finland, who are planning to expand their businesses to China, or are in the early stage and don't have an office in China yet, we have a distant membership. It's called Proxy Membership. A very cost-effective way to make your company known to a large audience, and get essential contacts for your future.

See all membership options HERE

The Premier Health Insurance Program of the FBC is provided exclusively for company members of Finnish Business Councils. Program is run by experienced international insurance broker – Oriental Benefit Group. The program offers companies with a comprehensive coverage and affordable rates. You can get the group insurance rates even if there's only one person in the company.

Who can join the Chamber’s Premier Health Insurance Plan?

Members of FBC

Contact us for more information. FBC Representative at Oriental Benefit Group:

Zikai Liu, Managing Partner

Mobile: 18501718500

Email: zikai.liu@orientalbenefit.com