It was only a couple weeks ago, on November 11th, when twenty measures to ease restrictions were launchedby the National Health Commission of China. However, as more power was transferred to local authorities, the impact has been the opposite and yet the spread of the virus can’t be controlled anymore. These events mirror the spring of 2020 when this whole situation first started. Psychologically and economically speaking, the situation is unbearable. The vaccination situation of the elderly is still poor, and the Chinese government has every reason to be worried about their health.

The situation is also affecting the companies. The Team Finland November Pulse Survey indicated clearly that companies have put their investments in China on hold. The negative effects of continued zero-Covid policy on revenue, profit and investment expectations in 2022 became evident. Close to 80% of respondents expect a slightly or considerably worse outcome for the year. Also, 51% of respondents are seeing a negative impact on revenue or investments in China in 2022 due to Russia’s continued war of aggression in Ukraine. However, only 10% of the respondents acknowledge the potential negative impact of the US State Department China Chip Act on their business in China. Read the full results HERE. The next survey will be the Business Confidence Survey in Q1 2023.

This month we've had the pleasure of participating in two events with face-to-face meetings. First, Thirty Finnish companies participated in a hybrid matchmaking event in the Daxing Economic Development Zone at Team Finland's “Regional Opportunities” -event. The event was very successful. The Chinese partners were not only big companies, but they were also hand picked to cooperate with Finnish companies. We've also gained very good media coverage, thanks to the EUCJIC, liaised by the Daxing local authorities to help with communication.

The second event was Team Finland's biannual meeting at the Finnish Ambassador’s Residence Nov 20-21. At the time only a handful of people were able to participate on-site. Other TF stakeholders and company representatives from Shanghai, Guangdong, and Hongkong had to participate online. However, the meetings were excellent and helpful for understanding the strategy of Team Finland for the upcoming year. Focus areas will fall under three main categories: 1. Carbon Reduction 2. Consumer, Food and Health, and 3. Digitalization (with plenty of subcategories). Mattie Bekink from The Economist shared a very insightful outlook on China, which you can read HERE.

We are not expecting any major changes on the current Covid policy in December. Majority of events will be held online, where they are easily accessible to everyone. In terms of carbon neutrality opportunities, FinnCham together with Danish and Norwegian chambers have launched the Greener Together webinar series. The webinar will be hosted once every month with outstanding experts. The first session was held November 24, and the next one will be on December 15th. Stay tuned for more information.

As the winter season has just begun, our gust writer this month is from the "Winter city", Lahti. Our member Lahti Region Development unit LADEC share their experiences on operating and gaining visibility here in China from a distance. China (Hebei) Ice & Snow Industry Development Conference opening ceremony was held last Friday. The related Expo with Finland Pavilion was postponed to March 2023. Ladec is one of the seven Finnish wintersport companies having the presence also there.

Until now this newsletter has been published at the end of month, every month. However, we'll be taking a small hiatus this December and starting next year we will be publishing the newsletter on the 15th day of each month. Therefore, the next one will be scheduled for mid-January. I'd like to take this opportunity on behalf of FinnCham Beijing to wish you all a great Christmas time.

Happy Christmas Season to everyone!

Ulla Nurmenniemi

Executive Director

In 2017, City of Lahti hosted the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships for seventh time. After the event as a legacy of the games, Lahti started to develop international sports business with new strategy and concept. At first, the development work focused naturally on winter sports. Lahti has been a venue for high-level winter sports events for 100 years. At the same time, China began preparing for the 2022 Winter Olympics. In Lahti, this was seen as an opportunity for cooperation between the countries. Lahti became one of the main players when the winter sports cooperation between China and Finland was built up. The cooperation with China and especially with the city of Zhangjiakou was the starting point for Lahti's development into an international innovation center for the sports sector.

After being the center of winter sports events for 100 years, Lahti wanted to update the sports city brand to be more versatile. Lahti wanted to build a future based on sports business for the next 100 years. In Lahti, there are expertise and conditions for more than 400 sports disciplines. The two Olympic Training Centers enable world-class coaching expertise, and the local universities bring strong expertise in R&D related to the sports sector. One of the greatest crown jewel in terms of research is the Sports Engineering Research Center (SERC) recently launched by LUT University. SERC's home is at LUT University's Department of Mechanical Engineering. The key research areas are related to computing, simulation technology and biomechanics. In cooperation with the Pajulahti Olympic and Paralympic Training Center, the research is integrated with strong sports physiology expertise. The role of Lahti Sports Hub in the sports engineering platform is to bring innovations from sports entities to be researched by SERC. As a result, new research data and new know-how are formed for the sports sector, but also diffused from sports to other industries.

In addition to sports, Lahti's other spearhead of expertise is sustainable development. Lahti was awarded as the European Green Capital for the year 2021. The achievement in huge for such a small city as Lahti (120 000 inhabitants), but it didn’t come out of nothing. Lahti has invested in environment since the 80s. Today 99% of household waste is recycled and the city has abandoned using coal for district-heating. As a result of long-term work, Lahti will be carbon neutral in 2025. What does this mean for Lahti as a Sport Business Hub? It means that Lahti is not only a leading Nordic centre for sport business development but it is a true hub for innovations and expertise related to sustainability in sports. Already, Lahti's know-how in sustainability is widely quoted in global sports networks.

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