“During the past 12 years of membership of the Chamber, I was able to find answers to our questions and needs according to the different tasks and department of my team.”

Interview with Massimo Bagnasco, Managing Director and Partner at Progetto CMR (Beijing); Vice President of the European Chamber

What value has the European Chamber brought to you/your Company?

I began to get involved in European Chamber activities in early 2008, when, after three years in China, I moved from Tianjin to Beijing.

I used to say I am a European Union (EU) citizen carrying an Italian passport, as well as that I am deeply convinced about the importance of the EU, especially in a country—or better to say a ‘continent’—as China. Here, more than anywhere else, size matters; then an organisation that was able to aggregate companies with the same issues and concerns, coming from different EU member states, got my attention and interest. And so I approached the Chamber.

During the past 12 years of membership of the Chamber, I was able to find answers to our questions and needs according to the different tasks and department of my team.

We’ve found a very well-established organisation that supported us, not just in Beijing but also in many other areas in China, especially when we started to explore local business environments and opportunities. The Chamber, through its local chapters and people, was a fundamental trustworthy entity helping us to speed up processes and mitigate risk in evaluations made with the support and experience of those that knew each specific location well.

The working groups—which could be called the Chamber’s ‘backbone’—gave us the opportunity to raise our concerns, get timely updates about policies and meet other players in the same sector. I was and I am still personally engaged in the Construction and the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise ones, but my team have also enjoyed contributions provided by several other working groups.

The experience I had serving in the Executive Committee, for seven years in a row now, was then a unique learning process, as I was able to work closely with so many well-experienced EU company leaders as well as ‘China’s old hands’.

Last but not least, the Chamber is the community where I also had the privilege of establishing many deep personal friendships, which is also a true treasure for my business activity!

Finally I would like to warmly thank all the secretary generals, managers, business managers and staff that devoted their work and commitment to helping the Chamber grow, then consolidate its position as the independent voice of the European business community in China, and well-recognised by Chinese institutions and business counterparts!

Massimo Bagnasco, Managing Director and Partner at Progetto CMR (Beijing); Vice President of the European Chamber