China Direct

DLA Piper helps China Eastern fly high

Dear CBI members & partners, firstly an apology for fewer China Direct updates than normal over the past 1-2 weeks. This has been due to restrictions on global Internet access during the current Congress. We hope that normal service will soon resume and thank you for your patience.

CBI member DLA Piper has advised China Eastern Airlines (CEA), one of the largest Chinese airlines operating domestic, regional and international routes, on its strategic investment in Euronext Paris listed Air France-KLM (AFK).

Through this transaction, CEA and SkyTeam alliance member Delta Air Lines (Delta) have each acquired a 10 percent stake in AFK’s share capital within the framework of reserved capital increases. The transaction closed on 3 October 2017.

The new partnership will help AFK secure more access to the booming Chinese air travel market, especially to Shanghai, where CEA is headquartered, and which is also China's biggest business market. It will also help strengthen AFK’s control over trans-Atlantic flights.

Please read more here.

Beijing's tallest building reaches for the sky - with help from CBI member Arup

With the last steel beam lifted up to the sky, the tallest building in Beijing, China Zun topped out successfully on 22 August. China Zun Tower stands out in the capital city’s Central Business District opposite another well-known Arup project – the CCTV Headquarters.

CBI member Arup has acted as the structural and geotechnical engineer for the project since 2011, as well as providing fire and security consultancy. Arup engineered a highly efficient tube-in-tube structural system composed of perimeter mega structure and reinforced concrete core.

The current elegant curved shape was also the result of many scheme study runs. The geometric complexity was further combined with the challenge of engineering a viable seismic structural system for such a tall building with its unique enlarged zun-top.

Please read more here.

Nearly 'All the coffee in China' - Whitbread acquires full ownership of Costa brand in the South

CBI Member Whitbread announces COSTA acquisition of South China joint venture.

WHITBREAD PLC ANNOUNCES THAT COSTA HAS ACQUIRED 49% OF ITS SOUTH CHINA JOINT VENTURE FROM ITS JV PARTNER, YUEDA, FOR RMB 310 MILLION (£35 MILLION). THIS ACQUISITION PROVIDES FULL OWNERSHIP IN THIS IMPORTANT GROWTH MARKET AND IS IN LINE WITH WHITBREAD’S STRATEGY TO FOCUS ON KEY INTERNATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES.

For more information please refer to the press release below:

Press Release

GSK wins China approval for child asthma medicine

CBI member GSK has announced that its Flixotide Nebules (generic name: Fluticasone Propionate Nebuliser Suspension) has been approved by the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA), for the treatment of mild to moderate asthma acute exacerbations in children and adolescents aged 4 – 16 years.

Flixotide Nebules can significantly improve lung function and relieve acute symptoms through continuous strong anti-inflammatory effect.

Dr. Wim Swyzen, VP and Country Medical Director for GSK China said: “It’s medically important and critical to prevent and adequately manage asthma and exacerbations in children.

The approval of Flixotide Nebules provides an important option to help relieve acute symptoms for Chinese children with asthma and effectively reduce application of systemic corticosteriods.”

Please read more here.

China's Golden week proves to be golden for UK retailers

A week-long national holiday in China is providing a much-needed boost for the entertainment and retail industry in London, with Chinese tourists taking advantage of the dip in exchange rates. China's National Day Golden Week holiday is arguably one of the biggest events in the consumer calendar.

Now halfway through its duration, the spending power of 1.4 billion Chinese has been unleashed on the world's entertainment and tourism industries. London, in which the Brexit-weakened pound has proved a boon for international visitors looking for a better deal, has already been enjoying a bumper week.

The Hippodrome Casino, located near tourist hotspot Leicester Square, has said that the U.K.'s capital could see up to 300,000 more Chinese visitors this week. This is a marked increase on the 54,000 Chinese visitors to the U.K. in the first quarter of 2017, a figure which was already up 27 percent year-on-year.

Please read more here.

Deloitte Investment Forum focuses on Chongqing city

CBI member Deloitte convened the China Outbound Investment Forum in Chongqing, China as an important part of the 2017 Deloitte GCSG Annual Meeting.

On this occasion Deloitte invited over 150 professionals from 25 countries across the globe and enterprise executives from various industries, to discuss the development and trend of Chinese outbound investment in the context of China’s economic transformation.

Representatives from the Chongqing Commerce Commission delivered their opening remarks at the Outbound Investment Forum, during which they stressed Chongqing as the economic centre of Western China, a region which consists of many investment advantages, such as its favourable geographical location, unique system, platforms, industries and economic corridors, all of which have attracted large amounts of foreign investment and widespread international attention.

As Chongqing opens up even further, it will be considered as a new growth highlight with great potential.

Please read more here.

CBI Member BT secures IP VIPN License for Shanghai

CBI member BT Wins Shanghai IP-VPN Licence

BT is the first global foreign telco to be awarded an IP VPN licence through the Shanghai Free Trade Zone by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

This allows BT to provide IP VPN services to customers within the Shanghai municipality.

This is part of BT's long term strategy to continue to expand its presence in China and it will continue to work with the Chinese authorities to this end.

UK PM Visit to Japan 30 Aug - 01 Sept

Theresa May, British prime minister, arrives in Japan seeking to boost post-Brexit trade. She will urge Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe to consider a new free trade deal with Britain.

Mr Abe is likely to press Mrs May to moderate the impact of Brexit on Japanese companies. The two leaders are also expected to discuss security, with Japan eager for allies to support the territorial status quo in the South and East China Seas. (With thanks to the FT for the headlines).

Carolyn Fairbairn, the CBI's Director-General, will be part of the UK business delegation to Tokyo.

For further information please contact George.bush@cbi.org.uk at the CBI's Press Office. 

GSK announces two major China healthcare initiatives

 

Cervarix, first vaccine for cervical cancer prevention in mainland China, has officially launched

CBI member GSK announced that Cervarix, the first approved vaccine for cervical cancer prevention in mainland China, has been officially launched in the market. The first imported batch of Cervarix has passed inspections by quality inspection authority, and can now be supplied to the market.

This addresses the current high level of unmet medical needs of a great amount of Chinese women within the appropriate age group for a vaccine that can help prevent cervical cancer. Like other vaccines, Cervarix can be vaccinated at community hospitals and health service centres where available.

Professor Youlin Qiao, Head of Epidemiology Department, Cancer Institute and Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (CICAMS) and Peking Union Medical College, said, “Cervical cancer is a common form of malignant tumour that severely threatens the health of women.

There are 100,000 new cases of cervical cancer in China each year, and over 30,000 deaths due to the disease. It is the third most common cancer amongst women from the ages of 15 to 44. For this reason, cervical cancer vaccination together with cervical cancer screening will significantly reduce the incidence of cervical cancer and pre-cancerous lesions, thus reducing the burden of this disease”.

Please read more here.

 

GSK aids hepatitis prevention and treatment in poverty-stricken areas of the western region

On the occasion of World Hepatitis Day, under the guidance and support of the National Health and Family Planning Commission (NHFPC), GSK and the China Health Promotion Foundation (CHPF) signed a Letter of Intent.

Under the framework of a strategic partnership, GSK will support CHPF to carry out the "Poverty Alleviation and Health Preservation - Hepatitis Prevention and Treatment" programme.

This programme will be in line with the broader strategic aims of China's "Healthy Silk Road" initiative to strengthen academic exchanges and cooperation between the western region and the southeast coastal areas of China, improve the country's prevention and treatment of hepatitis, and enhance the hepatitis prevention system and team capacity building.

To address regional discrepancies in medical treatment standards across the country, the project plans to select hospitals from Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou to collectively establish the China Hepatitis Prevention Training Institute.

Aimed at supporting Western China, the Institute is expected to train local personnel who will form the backbone of hepatitis prevention and treatment network and drive improvements in the western region’s hepatitis treatment capability. The programme will also establish an expert medical team, which will visit poverty-stricken areas of the western region to carry out grassroots hepatitis prevention and control work, as well as health promotion activities.

In addition, this programme will employ a variety of approaches, including: live events, clinical consultations, health lectures, publicity displays, and media reporting, to further promote health education on the prevention and treatment of hepatitis in Western China.

Please read more here.

GSK supports grassroots vaccination personnel in China capacity-building

 

The National Preventive Vaccination Services and Management Training Programme, helmed by the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association under the guidance of the National Health and Family Planning Commission (hereinafter referred to as NHFPC), with the support of the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention and the aid of CBI member GSK, was officially kicked off today.

The programme kick-off ceremony was attended by leaders from authorities such as the Disease Control Bureau of the NHFPC, the China Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Chinese Preventive Medicine Association.

In the coming three years, over 4,000 grassroots vaccination personnel are expected to be trained by the programme, which covers the interpretation of the new vaccine distribution policies, vaccination practices and procedures, technical standards for the treatment of suspected adverse reactions during vaccination, etc.

This programme is aiming to further promote the training of public-health and preventive-medicine personnel, improving overall level of prevention and vaccination, effectively curbing the outbreak of major disease epidemics.

Mr. Tongling Jin, Director of the Disease Control Bureau, NHFPC, commented that changes have been made in the relative laws, regulations and procedures since last April.

Overall, the policy framework is sound, the priority now is to implement all the policies, documents and requirements. The training kicked off today is one of the key actions to ensure the implementation in detail.

Please read more here.