Golden week, the 7-day-long national holiday, is about to begin tomorrow. Normally it would mean huge crowds, being one of the peak traveling periods of the year. But this year it is likely that many families will decide not to travel. The National Health Commission announced mid-September new measures that will be in place until the end of October to fight the virus that doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Based on Global Times authorities have instructed people to minimize travel during the National Day holiday. Cross-border traveling, both inbound and outbound, is suffering even worse. Despite the rest of the world moving toward an endemic approach to the virus, China continues to enforce a zero-Covid policy.

October is a special month not only because of Golden week, but also due to the National Party Congress - a once-in-five-years meeting which is taking place Oct 16 in Beijing. According to Xinhua, it will be attended by 2,296 carefully elected delegates. The 20th Party Congress is a monumental meeting in which Xi Jinping is expected to begin his third term as Party General Secretary. Most other major government-related events from September and October have been postponed until November, ZGC Forum being one of them. What will actually change after the big meeting remains to be seen, but the expectations in terms of easing restrictions are quite high. If there's a time and place for it, this is it.

Based on the fresh Position Paper 2022-2023 published by the European Chamber inbound investment flows from the European Union (EU) are declining. It states that the bulk of the flow is contributed by a handful of large companies and prevalent access barriers deter potential newcomers to the market. The European Chamber has given China 967 constructive recommendations in this position paper, based on the expertise of their member companies in 35 working groups and sub-working groups. The Position Paper analyses carefully the business environment in China for the main industries, as well as gives recommendations for European Companies. It suggests maintaining strong communication between company HQs and China operations, to ensure that HQs receive accurate, on-the-ground information in order to make informed investment and operational decisions. It also advises European companies to invest and participate more in government advocacy efforts through chambers of commerce, industry associations and standard-setting bodies.

There seems to be some light at the end of the tunnel. According to forecast of Skift Aviation Forum, a ‘strong wave’ of outbound travel from China will start up again in 2023, returning to its pre-pandemic levels by 2024. Based on China-Briefing, the business travel industry in China is predicted to recover and reach pre-pandemic levels by 2024.

As always, we'll be having a busy final quarter at FinnCham this year, with many online and offline events as well as resuming TF business delegations. In October we will also conduct the Team Finland flash survey to hear Finnish companies’ voice on the current situation. This month's guest writer is from our newest member company CHT Management School. Read about their impact on the education travel industry on the latter part of this newsletter.

On the behalf of FinnCham Beijing I wish you Happy Golden Week!

Ulla Nurmenniemi

Executive Director

Over the last 15 years, hundreds of Finnish students have gained valuable internship experience in China through CHT. This pioneering project was started by a cooperation between the Finnish National Education - EDUFI (ex-Cimo organization) and CHT organization in China.

CHT contributes to opening doors for international talents to become the leaders of tomorrow. Since 2007, CHT has offered young professionals from the world to participate in a unique study experience in China. Students come from universities around Finland and apply directly to EDUFI for the travel support fund, and CHT takes care of matching the students with companies in China. The participants stay in China for 3 or 6 months, doing internships in several business areas such as marketing, finance, human resource, and IT, hospitality, working for Chinese or international brands in cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou. Apart from that, an introductory Chinese language course and all the local support is provided by CHT. 

The program does not just give professional experience but a possibility to understand China better and open their mind to the world, make friends, and improve their relationship skills in such a diverse culture by communicating with people from all over the world. According to CHT's director, Niko Wang. "We see significant demand for the Finnish Students taking China as a destination and they also can get scholarship from EDUFI, which lead to such a successful program. The employers in China like the interns coming from Finland because of the professionalism, honesty, and good performance they deliver." 

The program offers internship opportunities in China and enhances professional skills as well. According to Santeri Mäkinen, a participant in the program in 2009, "The internship in China program truly helped me to get most of my internship experience in Beijing. CHT not only connected me with a dedicated and supportive employer but also helped me with practical things like accommodation and how to get by in the new cultural setting. Even though I did not end up with a career directly linked with business in China, the time spent in Beijing gave me vital experience working in a multicultural team."

Now, the CHT group has launched the Study in Finland portal, offering the opportunity to Chinese students to seek further study in Finland. The "Fenlanxuexi" portal was established in 2020 (fenlanxuexi.com), offering high-quality Finnish courses, such as bachelor's and master's programs, Finnish language courses, and professional internships.

Cooperating with Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences, LUT university, and other Finland’s top universities, CHT currently provides upper secondary education programs, higher education programs, vocational teacher programs, Finnish courses, IELTS courses, and global internships. 

CHT is now seeking partners in Finland and is focused on developing a new program about Finland professional internships for Chinese students. This program will help students seeking a professional experience in Finland and welcome companies and organizations to join its programs. We seek partner companies will provide internship positions for Chinese students.

FinnCham 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. A very cost-effective way to make your company known to a large audience, and get essential contacts for your future.

Not a member yet: Join us HERE

FinnCham Beijing’s mission is to help Finnish companies to succeed in China