On November 6, the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China and the Federal Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism of Austria jointly hosted the inaugural meeting of the China-Austria Business Council in Beijing. Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Austrian Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer attended the meeting and delivered keynote remarks. More than 100 representatives from government and business circles of both countries participated.
Minister Wang noted that this year marks the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Austria. Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of both countries, China and Austria have embraced the principles of openness and inclusiveness, achieving fruitful results in bilateral economic and trade cooperation. The establishment of the China-Austria Business Council provides a bridge for closer business engagement between the two countries and will help align China’s 15th Five-Year Plan with Austria’s Industrial Strategy 2035. He expressed the hope that enterprises from both sides would make full use of the Council as a platform to focus on their respective strengths, deepen practical cooperation, and jointly write a new chapter in China-Austria economic and trade relations. Wang also called on Austria to provide a fair, open, and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies investing and operating in Austria, thereby supporting the sustained, stable, and healthy development of China-EU economic relations.Minister Hattmannsdorfer stated that China is Austria’s most important economic and trade partner in Asia. Given the strong complementarities between the two economies, the Austrian government is committed to building a more balanced and reliable economic relationship with China, expanding the scope of bilateral cooperation, further unlocking Austria’s export potential to China, and welcoming Chinese investment in Austria. He expressed the hope that the establishment of the Council would serve as a new opportunity for businesses from both countries to strengthen exchanges, leverage their respective advantages, and bring more cooperative projects to fruition.
Representatives of participating companies from both sides expressed strong confidence in the prospects for China-Austria economic and trade cooperation. They welcomed the positive progress made in China-EU trade and investment consultations and pledged to make full use of the Council mechanism to contribute actively to the development of both China-Austria and China-EU economic relations.Prior to the meeting, and in the presence of the Prime Ministers of China and Austria, Minister Wang and Minister Hattmannsdorfer jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Establishment of the China-Austria Business Council. The Bank of China and the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber will serve as the respective chair organizations of the Council.
