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00:00I AM JUST WONDERING, WHAT DOES IT LIKE FOR YOUR MEMBERSHIP DOING BUSINESS IN CHINA IN WHAT HAS BEEN A VERY STRANGE YEAR? WE SEE A STRONG PANDEMIC RECOVERY TAKING PLACE IN CHINA. OUR POLITICAL FACTORS WEIGHING IT COMES TO INVESTMENT DECISIONS, BUSINESS DECISIONS MADE BY YOUR MEMBERS? > > WE HAD A ROLLER COASTER OF A YEAR, COLLAPSE IN THE SECOND QUARTER AND INCREDIBLY STRONG REBOUNDING IN MAY, JUNE AND MANY MANUFACTURERS HAVE DOUBLED THEIR [INDISCERNIBLE] WE RELY ON CHINA BEING PROFITABLE. TOURISM, TRANSPORTATION, AND SO FORTH. THE PAIN IS NOT EVENLY DISTRIBUTED. IT INVESTMENTS AROUND CHINA ARE 30%. WHAT IT REALLY IS A HEADWIND IS THE KIND OF EROSION OF GOODWILL AS CHINA USED TO BE 10 YEARS AGO 50% TO 60% FAVORABLE IN EUROPE AND NOW IS BETWEEN 70% TO 80% VIEWED UNFAVORABLY. HAIDI: HOW DIFFICULT IS IT FOR EUROPEAN BUSINESSES THAT ARE IN CHINA TO HAVE A PRESENCE IN CHINA THAT RELY ON TO BEING ABLE TO PHYSICALLY TRAVEL BETWEEN EUROPE AND CHINA TO GO ABOUT THEIR BUSINESS WHEN THESE RESTRICTIONS, THESE BLACKLISTS WERE VISITORS OR EVEN FOREIGN RESIDENTS TO CHINA IT REMAIN? > > TRAVEL WITHIN CHINA IS POSSIBLY THE EASIEST GLOBALLY, FROM CITY TO CITY VERY EASILY BUT OUTSIDE CHINA VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE. WE HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING FOR A LONG TIME TO GET RESIDENTS BACK. WE TALK ABOUT PEOPLE THAT PAY TAXES IN CHINA AND GERMANY AND FRANCE AND THERE IS NO BIG APPETITE TO OPEN UP THE BORDERS. YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THEM PARTLY THAT THEY DO NOT WANT TO COVET GAZES TO COME IN. -- COVID CASES TO COME IN. THEY ARE TRYING TO BE COVID FREE ON THE ANNIVERSARY OF THE LOCKED DOWN JANUARY TO DECLARE VICTORY. 600 BILLION CHINESE HAVE TRAVELED SEPARATELY. I CANNOT IMAGINE THAT THE COUNTRY OPENS UP AND THAT IS NOT GOOD FOR US AND BUSINESS. TRAVEL BACK AND FORTH IS VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE. SHERY: WE CONTINUE TO SEE COMMITMENTS FROM CHINESE AUTHORITIES ABOUT THE OPENING UP OF CHINESE MARKETS TO FOREIGN COMPANIES. AT WHAT YOU ' RE SEEING ON THE GROUND? HOW MUCH PROGRESS IS BEING MADE? > > I CAN TELL YOU OUR [INDISCERNIBLE] SO NOT MUCH AS HAPPENED. 5% TO 6% OF OUR ISSUES GET RESOLVED. WE SEE A GREATER EAGERNESS OF CHINA TO REACH OUT TO YOUR. IN THE ONGOING INVESTMENT AGREEMENT THERE HAS BEEN MADE SOME PROGRESS BUT OVERALL IT IS STILL SMALL WHEN IT COMES TO OPENING UP. WE CALL THIS PROMISE FATIGUE. CHINA IS GROWING VERY STRONGLY AND SO THEY MAY NOT SEE THE NECESSITY. I SEE A SHIFT WHEN IT COMES TO CIRCULATION IN AREAS WHERE CHINA CANNOT PRODUCE MATERIALS OR OTHER EQUIPMENTS. AT WILL OPEN UP TO FOREIGNERS MORE THAN EVER TO BE LESS DEPENDENT ON SUPPLY CHAIN ' S COMING OUT FROM CHINA. SHERY: DO YOU EXPECT THAT INVESTMENT TREATY TO BE FINALIZED BY THE END OF THE YEAR? > > PROFESSIONALLY, I HAVE TO BE AN OPTIMIST. WE WANT A ROBUST AGREEMENT. TRADE IS GOING TO BE SIGNED OFF AND AWAY, THE ROAD GOES ON EVEN IF THE AGREEMENT IS NOT GOING TO BE SIGNED. IT WOULD BE NICE. EUROPE AND CHINA AS SHOWN THEY CAN GET THE RINGS DONE -- THINGS DONE. OVERALL DOMESTICALLY IT WILL NOT TAKE PLACE. HAIDI: HOW MUCH OF A CONCERN IS THERE OVER THESE ONGOING U.K.-EUROPEAN UNION BREXIT TALKS? ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT DISRUPTION TO INVESTOR SENTIMENT, THE ABILITY OF BUSINESSES TO MAKE THESE DECISIONS GOING FORWARD? > > WE HAVE KEPT U.K. BUSINESS AS PART OF THE EUROPEAN UNION. DESPITE THE FACT OF IT BREAKFASTED -- BREXIT. EUROPEAN COMPANIES WILL HAVE A TOUGHER TIME SIGNING OFF. SCOTTISH WHISKEY IS NOT ON THE LIST. IRISH WHISKEY IS. THERE WILL BE IN THERE SOME DISADVANTAGES. FOR US THE IMPACT IS NOT THE DECOUPLING BETWEEN THE U.S. AND CHINA AS A FAR MORE SEVERE IMPACT. SHERY:

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Joerg Wuttke, President of EU Chamber of Commerce in China, on Pandemic Impact on European Firms

Joerg Wuttke, President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, discusses the pandemic impact on his members. He speaks with Shery Ahn and Haidi Stroud-Watts on "Bloomberg Daybreak: Asia." (Source: Bloomberg)