According to a Swiss Diplomat, China turns out to be an important market for Swiss companies and investments, which is currently attracting a large number of Swiss SMEs willing to expand their business in the biggest market of the world and seek cooperation opportunities.
Highlights on the Sino-Swiss cooperation
According to Yves Morath, head of the Swiss Business Center at the Swiss Embassy in China, the country is growing very fast in terms of innovation and has emerged as a group of high-tech companies. Nowadays, China has become Switzerland’s most important market in Asia.
They are opening up a wider market for foreign investment due to new foreign investment laws and the shortening of the negative list.
He also pointed out that “China has a huge consumer market and is currently the most populous country in the world. The country’s rapidly growing middle-income group shows strong purchasing power, which provides opportunities for Swiss high-end and high-end consumer goods”.
Furthermore, jewelry and watches represent the fastest-growing Swiss exports to China, with more than thousands of companies investing in the Chinese market.
But also, the Chinese healthcare and medical devices market can be perceived as having a huge potential for future collaboration considering China’s aging population. In addition, the coming up Beijing Winter Olympics game in 2022, can lead to Switzerland’s extensive experience in logistics and infrastructure which will be a non-neglected asset for the European country.
Swiss investment in China
Recently, many Swiss companies have increased their investment in China. According to Schindler Group, the world’s leading manufacturer of elevators and escalators, these growing investments will provide China with the most advanced technology and services for the coming years.
Both countries have had tremendous achievements in the field of innovation. Switzerland signed a free trade agreement with China in 2013, which is the first trade agreement between China and a continental European country. They also established an innovative strategic partnership in 2016 and promised to deepen economic and trade cooperation.
For Yves Morath, Chinese companies also invested in Switzerland in some very specific fields such as:
- Drones
- Finance
- Solar energy
- Laser
Some investments can be perceived as very optimistic about future prospects investment.
“Switzerland is very strong in the life sciences and offers many possibilities and opportunities for Chinese companies in the chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical machinery businesses”, he said.
And the continental European country positioned itself as a leading research and innovation center. Switzerland’s universities own a very rich talent pool and strong R&D capabilities in these different fields.
The common points between the manufacturing, electrical engineering, and metal industries? Is that they have broad prospects. Information and communication technologies should be a particularly promising opportunity for China’s internet and artificial intelligence companies said, Morath.
According to Wang Wei, from the China Institute of International Studies, Swiss investment in China is mainly concerned with the electrical, mechanical, pharmaceutical, chemical, and food sectors of coastal areas and special economic zones.
How to perform in the Chinese market for newcomers?
Whether it’s about developing a new collaboration with Chinese companies, finding investors, or developing projects in China, you won’t be able to do anything if unknown from the Chinese market.
China is well known for its different issues about fake products, fake companies/brands, counterfeits, and so on. Also, all the economic actors of this giant market are now very careful of who deal with.
The Chinese market is different from any market you may have experienced before. And your foreign brand image doesn’t matter here. You may have to start again. So, here are a few tips to succeed in the Chinese market:
- Make you visible: you can make up a Chinese website or open an official account on Weibo.
- Build your brand reputation (very important). You can use KOL, Chinese social media, PR, or anything. But you have to show how trusted your company can be. It’s a must-do.
- Work on your branding. You have to adapt yourself to this new market. To do so, you’ll need to work on your brand image through Chinese social media.
- As business is not only about your brand image but most importantly about making money: Develop an E-commerce platform on Tmall Global, XiaoHongShu, Douyin, Alibaba, etc. (according to your industry). You can also directly open a company in China and be represented locally.
Some simple steps that will make the difference between a successful business and wasting both time & money.
If you want to target Chinese Tourists, we can also help you, we are specialized (see more here)
For any questions about doing business in China and how to proceed, feel free to contact us.
We are GMA. The Gentlemen of China.
- We help international companies to develop themselves in China
- We are specialized in lead generation strategy & Branding
- We are result-oriented
- Pragmatic approach adapted to the Chinese Market
- Deep knowledge of Chinese consummers
- We know the different problems that may face a foreign brands in China
