First Meeting of the German Local Business Advisory Council Held in Beijing

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in China hosted the First Meeting of the "German Local Business Advisory Council" of the Sino-German Energy Partnership on 3 May 2018 at Tangla Hotel in Beijing.

Group photo of the "German Local Business Advisory Council" meeting
Group photo of the "German Local Business Advisory Council" meeting

The Business Council Meeting brought together high-level government officials from the German Ministry for Economy and Energy and more than 25 participants from German industry, trade associations and the German embassy to address common challenges and opportunities that German industries face in China. It also served as an opportunity to hear and discuss firsthand with government and business experts about policy developments in the energy efficiency and renewable energy sectors in Germany and China. Major industry players as well as small-and-medium enterprises joined the meeting, among them Siemens, Thyssenkrupp, RWE, ENEXIO, Caterpillar Energy Solutions, ELCO Heating Solutions, Infineon Technologies, Kaeser Kompressoren, Kübler and mdexx. Important German institutions, such as the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the German Chamber of Commerce Beijing (AHK Beijing) and the Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) were also represented.

The meeting started out with a brief welcome by the German Embassy’s Minister Counsellor and Economic Affairs Coordinator and the Director General of BMWi’s Department of Energy Policy who both emphasized the importance of establishing a new Business to Government Council in China. Two short presentations followed, which explained the Local Business Advisory Council’s structure, added value and how it aligns to ongoing activities of the Sino-German Energy Partnership. This set the stage for two industry presentations from Kaeser Kompressoren and Thyssenkrupp China, who both presented their corporate views on market challenges, opportunities and need for government support in the energy consumption and supply sectors. During two rounds of open discussions, participants addressed and discussed the most pressing market barriers, such as the lack of reference cases in China, insufficient contacts/relationships, fierce market competition, the need for life-cycle cost considerations; unfavorable subsidy schemes for German companies, the need to raise awareness of local consumers about national subsidies and programs and intransparent implementation of regulations at sub-national level. The discussions also touched upon the intricate debate of using German technologies to improve energy efficiency in China and thereby making Chinese companies more competitive on international markets.

The issues identified during the Local Business Advisory Council served as an important input for the 4th Annual Working Group Meeting on Energy Efficiency, which was held with high-level delegates from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), BMWi and the Sino-German Energy Partnership in the second half of the day. During the annual working group meeting, the forthcoming term of bilateral energy efficiency cooperation between Germany and China was discussed. The Sino-German Working Group on Energy Efficiency was first established in 2014 and is part of an Energy Partnership, which serves as a high-level bilateral government-to-government dialogue intended to develop bilateral projects and solutions to common multimodal energy efficiency challenges in China and Germany. The next Local Advisory Business Council Meeting will likely be held in October 2018 in China. For more information, please contact Melisande.liu(at)giz.de

Please click here to download the agenda of the Business Council Meeting. If you wish to obtain the presentations to this event, please contact Melisande.liu(at)giz.de.

Thorsten Herdan, Director General of BMWi at "Local Business Advisory Council " Meeting

Thorsten Herdan, Director General of BMWi at "Local Business Advisory Council " Meeting

Thorsten Herdan, Director General of BMWi at "Local Business Advisory Council " Meeting

Discussion at "Local Business Advisory Council" Meeting

Discussion at "Local Business Advisory Council" Meeting

Discussion at "Local Business Advisory Council" Meeting

First Meeting of the "German Local Business Advisory Council

First Meeting of the "German Local Business Advisory Council

First Meeting of the "German Local Business Advisory Council"

First Meeting of the "German Local Business Advisory Council

First Meeting of the "German Local Business Advisory Council

First Meeting of the "German Local Business Advisory Council"

Sandra Retzer, Head of GIZ Cluster Sustainable Transport, Energy and Urbanisation at the Meeting

Sandra Retzer, Head of GIZ Cluster Sustainable Transport, Energy and Urbanisation at the Meeting

Sandra Retzer, Head of GIZ Cluster Sustainable Transport, Energy and Urbanization at the Meeting

Paul Recknagel of the Sino-German Energy Partnership at the Meeting

Paul Recknagel of the Sino-German Energy Partnership at the Meeting

Paul Recknagel of the Sino-German Energy Partnership at the Meeting