THE Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) in Dublin was the venue for a lively seminar yesterday, titled ‘Chinese investment into the EU – what to make of it?’. The seminar looked at the re-emergence of China as a world heavyweight since 1978, that country’s own persisting internal problems, the debt crisis in the West, the notion of a ‘Pax Sinica’ and how the time may be ripe for creating policies at EU level which would facilitate the surgical introduction of Chinese FDI for the benefit of individual member states and the EU as a whole.

The Europe China Research and Advice Network (ECRAN), an EU-funded academic project, was behind the event, as was the IIEA and the UK’s Chatham House.

After an introduction by Brendan Halligan, Founder and Chairman of the IIEA, the speakers examined the current level of Chinese FDI into European member states – which is at this stage far smaller than the ‘China’s buying up the planet’ contingent would have us believe – as well as the impact which that investment has had on Europe and how future investment opportunities might be worked out.

ECRAN’s purpose is to gather data, research and opinions among academic leaders from Europe and beyond, and present them to EU policy-makers who can then make ‘informed’ decisions on how best to develop inward investment from currently cash-rich China in the coming 50 years.

The question of sustainability and the development of China from an export-oriented economy to one that is driven mainly by domestic demand was addressed, and the speakers expressed their confidence that this could be achieved, leading to a ‘win-win situation’, provided there were no ‘disruptive’ elements to China’s current growth and development trajectory.

The idea of Chinese companies becoming household names in Europe by 2020 was also suggested, in so far as there is the potential for white goods maker Haier, sports brand Li Ning and others to follow Lenovo in establishing themselves as a brand of choice among European consumers.

According to its website, ECRAN is a “three-year project funded by the European Union to provide advice on China to European policy-makers. It aims to establish a wide network of experts and institutions across Europe who share a common interest in China”.

And, on the same topic, Health Minister Dr James Reilly is right now promoting Ireland as a destination for healthcare investment, exploring opportunities for Irish health education facilities and visiting Irish pharmaceutical companies in China.

Find out more about ECRAN here, the IIEA here, and Chatham House here.

Speakers:

• Dr Liming Wang, Director of the Confucius Institute for Ireland
• Professor Bernadette Andreosso-O’Callaghan, Jean Monnet Professor of Economics and Professor at UL
  
• Professor Jeremy Clegg, Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration and International Business Management and Director of the Centre for International Business at the University of Leeds
• Dr Hinrich Voss, Research fellow at the Centre for International Business at the University of Leeds