The view from China

Quarantine-free travel

There has been some encouraging news from Singapore this week as the authorities prepare to allow quarantine-free travel from 19 October to eight nations, including the UK, France, Spain and the US. Separately, citizens from Germany and Brunei were allowed to enter Singapore without quarantine from September.

Japan’s largest business group, the Keidanren, continues to press for quarantine-free travel to the country for both tourists and business travellers, and even China has recently discussed the possibility of border restrictions easing after the Beijing Winter Olympics in March 2022.

Vietnam and Australia are also relieving their quarantine restrictions and earlier this week Thailand announced there will be new quarantine free travel policies implemented for selected foreign travellers in November.

Improving US-China relations

The release of detained Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou from house detention in Vancouver at the end of last month and the subsequent freeing of the ‘two Michaels’ from imprisonment in China certainly helped to ease diplomatic tensions between the US, China and Canada.

Indeed, US-China diplomatic relations appear to be improving after a six-hour long meeting in Zurich earlier in the month between US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Yang Jiechi, China’s top foreign policy official.

Additionally, a virtual meeting between Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping may now be on the cards for the end of 2021. This will be an encouraging development for international businesses operating in China.

Domestic issues

China has plenty to look at domestically with disappointing consumer consumption figures for the recent week-long national holiday at the beginning of October, ongoing uncertainty from the Evergrande crisis and the prospect of province-wide power disruptions for the remainder of the year.

Analysts have already suggested that the power outages, ongoing regulatory uncertainty and real estate meltdown will slow China’s Q3 GDP to 5% compared to previous estimates.

Indeed, this figure may well lower further as more real estate companies nationwide (such as developers Fantasia, Sinic and Xinyuan – with more to follow) have begun to report financial difficulties meeting bond repayment commitments.

What the CBI has been doing

The CBI China team joined the climate change judging panel at Taiwan’s 2021 Better Business Awards in early October, and was delighted to see Delta Electronics win the Climate Champion Award.

CBI member AstraZeneca Taiwan scooped the Business Leader of the Year category (sponsored by CBI member HSBC).

As the UK counts down to COP26 in Glasgow next month the COP15 Biodiversity Conference was held this week in Kunming with HMA Caroline Wilson and her team from the Embassy in Beijing and Consulate in Chongqing in attendance.

The CBI China team will be participating at the South China Climate Conference in Guangzhou later this month and will bring the latest Race to Zero insights from the UK-based CBI decarbonisation team.

The view from India

Unlocking mobility between the UK and India

After a little slip in the quarantine policy between the UK and India, travel and mobility will be back on the cards for vaccinated travellers as both countries lift the 10-day mandatory quarantine requirement. Now, the Oxford-AstraZeneca formulated, India administered vaccine Covishield is recognised by the UK - easing travel for fully-vaccinated travellers.

Powering up India’s defence manufacturing

India restructured the over 200-year-old Ordnance Factory Board, that operated 41 ammunition and military equipment production facilities, into seven state-owned corporate entities to improve its accountability, efficiency, and competitiveness.

The seven new defence companies are Munitions India Limited (MIL), Armoured Vehicles Nigam Limited (AVANI), Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWE India), Troop Comforts Limited (TCL), Yantra India Limited (YIL), India Optel Limited (IOL) and Gliders India Limited (GIL).

In 2020, India increased the FDI limit in the defence sector to 74% from 49%. The aim for restructuring around the conducive FDI and tech-enabled environment is to step-up the game for indigenous defence production and exports.

India’s stance at the G20 Trade Ministers meeting

India is fast emerging as a top trusted global trading partner and is presently revisiting pending FTAs with Australia, the UK, the EU and the UAE. The CBI India team continues to proactively engage with the government to push forward the top priorities of our members for the UK-India FTA as outlined in our consultation response to the DIT. The FTA negotiations between the UK and India are likely to begin from 1 November, according to Indian media sources.

Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, who attended the G20 Trade Ministers meeting in Italy, pushed for resolving trade barriers like vaccine differentiations, enabling free flow of health services in the world, a waiver of intellectual property rights and an equitable and balanced outcome to the negotiations in fisheries sector.

Other top priorities for India included its commitments as per the Paris Agreement and pushing for the transfer of technology and climate finance.

The view from the USA

Discussions with Brandon Lewis MP

John Dickerman, CBI Head of North America, met Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis MP on 13 October, during the Secretary’s recent visit to the US. They discussed the current political and economic context in Washington, reiterated member priorities on bringing business into the discussion on the Northern Ireland Protocol, and discussed how the CBI and UK government can work together to enhance the investment relationship between the US and the UK.

Preparing for COP26

John also spoke as a panellist at a virtual event hosted by THE UK Consulate in Vancouver on 14 October, where business and government stakeholders gathered to discuss how both sides were preparing for COP26. Discussions also focused on how the UK and Canada can cooperate on like-minded climate solutions for the future.

Opportunities for UK businesses in Florida

On 11 October, the CBI Washington team organized a member roundtable on fintech at the CBI’s headquarters in London with visiting business representatives from the Jacksonville, Florida area. The discussion focused on sharing best practices from either side of the Atlantic, opportunities for UK firms in one of the fastest growing markets in the United States, and where the future of the industry lies.

FTA negotiations with Canada

Elsewhere in North America, the CBI Washington team has been thoroughly engaged with its Canadian counterparts regarding the UK’s FTA negotiations with Canada and its future accession to the CPTPP trade agreement. The team organized a recent discussion with the Business Council of Canada and CBI members to discuss the intellectual property chapters of both agreements.

Business awareness of the new National Security and Investment Act

BEIS are asking for business feedback on whether businesses are aware of the new National Security and Investment Act, the government’s new screening mechanism for foreign investment into the UK. While the Act will look to target specific sectors that could pose threats to UK national security, such as critical technologies and data infrastructure, it has the power to cover a wide array of supply chains and industries across the UK economy. This could mean significant paperwork burdens for your business. Complete the survey.