The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce has the pleasure to invite you to a webinar on 'China's Consumption Challenge', which will take place on the 30th of April at 15h00 CEST.

Many business leaders are vexing about why Chinese growth doesn't feel like the officially reported 5.2% growth rate – why business conditions are so challenging. One key reason is that most of China's current growth is coming from state-led investment and too little of it from Chinese people consuming things. Ultimately, this imbalance needs to be addressed; household consumption, not exports, must provide the demand needed to drive future Chinese growth and economic sustainability. China has the capability, resources, and tools to undertake the reforms necessary to establish consumption as a primary growth driver, but it requires a major shift in longstanding and deeply rooted political economy arrangements. So not an easy undertaking. A key strategic question for western companies active in China is: When and how the consumption shift will happen in China, and what business conditions should be expected and planned for in the meantime?

This briefing will unpack China's consumption challenge, outline the reforms required to address the challenge, and discuss the operating environment impacts in China of China's deficiency in household consumption.

Programme:

15:00 - 15:05 Introduction: Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director, Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce

15:05 - 15:45 Briefing: David Hoffman, Senior Advisor, Conference Board Asia and its China Center for Economics & Business in Beijing

15:45 - 16:00 Q&A

The briefing will cover:

• Key consumption trends and realities in China.
• Chinese current policy agenda and key trajectories.
• Signposts and red flags—what guideposts should be monitored to inform business planning?

David Hoffman is a Senior Advisor of the Conference Board Asia and its China Center for Economics & Business in Beijing. He is a deeply experienced China expert and business practitioner specializing in China business development strategy, organizational development, regulatory engagement, and crisis and risk management. A lifelong student of contemporary Chinese economics and political science, he lived and worked in China for 30 years, followed by 7 in Singapore. (full bio and publication list​)