By Audrey Guo

During the Spring Festival of the Year of the Ox， Chinas Foreign Trade invited several foreign commercial officials and leader from foreign companies to share their points of view on the changes seen in the last year， as well as their New Years wishes and their expectations for 2021.

In 2020， the pandemic influenced everyone in the world， as summarized by Victor Cadena， Vice Chairman of the Mexican Chamber of Commerce in China： “Our organization and member companies has been influenced by COVID-19 in different ways， as has everyone.”

According to Global Economy Outlook， the global economy contracted by 4.4% in 2020. All companies were faced with the challenge of how to survive the global pandemic. A survey released by the Ministry of Commerce shows that nearly 60% of foreign companies in China had an optimistic attitude. Some of our interviewees have lived in China for more than ten years； they believed the policies and measures implemented by the Chinese government were effective. However， they also found that business opportunities continued to emerge， through online meetings， data application， and innovations in medical health. The details are as follows.

TRADE BETWEEN CHINA AND AFGHANISTAN MOVED INTO POSITIVE TERRITORY

—M. Mustafa Jamal， Commercial Counsellor of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan in China

Afghanistans exports to China increased by 86.18% in 2020 compared with 2019. The export value reached USD 54.5 million in 2020， up from USD 29.2 million in 2019， while its imports were USD 500.8 million in 2020 according to data published by the Statistics Department of the General Administration of China Customs.

The trade volume between the two countries， however， declined by 11.72% to USD 555.3 million in 2020 from USD 629 million in 2019 as a result of problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Afghanistans imports from China have declined by 16.5% to USD 500.8 mil- lion in 2020 from USD 599.8 million in 2019.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a great impact on economic activities， and it was this， coupled with restrictions on international travel to China that were the main drivers for the decline. Both Afghanistans imports from China and exports to China were hit hard during the second and third quarters of 2020， contracting by 28% during the second quarter and by 13% during the third quarter. It was only when travel restrictions were lifted slightly in September 2020， allowing Afghan traders to travel to China， that trade between the two countries started to recover and move into positive territory during the last quarter of 2020.

The Chinese governments measures to control spread of COVID-19 and combat its negative impact on economic activities have been courageous and have paid off. The fact that Chinas GDP recorded a 2.3% growth in 2020， despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic， is the result of such robust and efficient policies. Meanwhile， the impact of these policies has spilled-over into other economies in terms of decent exports to China.

Afghanistan-China trade recovered and started to increase only after the slight easing in international travel restrictions to China in Sep- tember 2020 and the resumption of Afghanistan Air travel corridor flights in October 2020. At present， it is on an expansionary tack， but it still needs to be taken forwards and trade relations need to be advanced in order to benefit from the new trends in e-commerce and online crossborder trade.

We hope to witness further easing and facilitation of international travel to China after the 2021 Spring Festival， at least for Afghan businessmen who have registered enterprises in China. Furthermore， we look forward to greater transport and logistics connectivity， especially the expansion of the Sino-Afghan train cooperation.

I wish for prosperous， fair， and sustainable trade ties between our two friendly neighboring nations. May the 2021 Spring Festival bring you happiness， joy， and good fortune. Happy 2021 Chinese Spring Festival！

BRUSSELS IS AN IDEAL GATEWAY TO THE VAST EUROPEAN MARKET FOR CHINESE INVESTORS

—Mattias Debroyer， ？ Trade & Investment Commissioner Brussels Capital Region

As Investment & Trade Commissioner for hub.brussels， I am responsible for trade and investment promotion for the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. I am based at the Consulate General of Belgium in Shanghai. Hub.brussels assists companies in exporting to China and promotes Brussels as the ideal investment destination for Chinese investors. In China， hub.brussels has presences in Beijing， Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Hub.brussels quickly shifted away from its planned actions， which included economic missions and seminars， towards new ways of promoting trade and investment. We have organized various webinars， including a webinar on investing in Brussels， and an online B2B matchmaking event linking Brussels food brands with Chinese partners. We have also participated in the International Commercial and Legal Cooperation Forum， organized by the CCPIT， in order to promote Brussels as an international commercial arbitration hub.

We expect to see a continuation in our online promotional activities， in combination with our offline presence at fairs and trade shows in China. As an international pharmaceutical hub， Belgian exports are expected to continue following the current positive trend， especially for vaccines. Chinese investors are finding their way back to Brussels， which more than ever acts as an ideal gateway to the vast European market.

On behalf of hub.brussels， I wish everybody a prosperous， successful and healthy year of the Ox！ 新年快樂！

CHINAS GROWTH IS NOT ONLY POSITIVE FOR CHINA， BUT IS POSITIVE FOR THE WORLD

—Victor Cadena， Vice President of the Mexican Chamber of Commerce in China

I have been in China for over 10 years. I am currently serving as Vice President of the Mexican Chamber of Commerce in China （MEXCHAM）. Our aim as a Chamber is to promote trade and investments between China and Mexico. Just like everyone else， our organization and member companies have been influenced by COVID-19 in many different ways. Internally speaking， we implemented the “home office” model for several months from the very beginning of the pandemic， as it was not feasible to work at the office for several months. On other hand， activities that we use to actively participate in， such as offline fairs， exhibitions and seminars， could not be held offline and were all held online instead. While this certainly has its own particular advantages， it also had some disadvantages. In the meantime， international direct flights for passengers between China and Mexico havent run for almost a year， which has obviously affected sectors， such as tourism （given that Mexico was the most visited country by Chinese visitors in Latin America， with around 200，000 Chinese visitors in 2019） and business （as business people have been not able to travel for commercial purposes）， to mention just a few effects. Indeed， this is not exclusive to our organization or even to Mexico； this is applicable for almost everyone. A positive side effect of this is that we all were forced to accelerate our digitalization process in all senses. As such， we have had more online meetings and events that ever before， and have even supported the launch of a WeChat store for promoting Mexican products in China which we had started planning some time ago.

The Chinese government and people have been successful in their efforts to control and combat the effects of the pandemic. I recognize and admire the effectiveness and seriousness of the implemented policies which have brought safety， health， and wellbeing for everyone living in China. I would also like to recognize Chinas openness in supporting the international community with technical advice on the management of COVID， donations and the supply of medical equipment to overseas countries. From a business perspective， positive tax policies have been implemented， which have certainly helped local businesses and domestic consumption. I consider the use of technology in China to have played a relevant role. One example of this was the utilization of big data through the use of QR codes on mobile phones for tracking zones and people which have been exposed， which has been widely adopted since the very beginning of the pandemic. This has helped control the spread of the pandemic a lot， along with other effective measures， including the mandatory use of masks and restrictions on large events being held offline.

China had a GDP growth of 2.3 % in 2020， and was one of the very few countries that saw growth worldwide last year. In 2021， it is estimated that China will have a growth of around 7.9%， which is impressive considering compound growth. As a matter of fact， Chinas growth is not only positive for China， but is positive for the world as China is the second largest global economy and is the first or second biggest trading partner of dozens of countries worldwide， including Mexico. We live in a multilateral and integrated world； the faster China or any other countries recover， the better it is for the whole international community. Saying that， my expectations for 2021 remain positive， and I believe the ongoing year will be much better than 2020 in all senses： public health， wellbeing， employment， trade， investments and global economic growth in general， especially after the vaccination has been widely distributed worldwide.

CHINESE PEOPLE HAVE PROVEN THAT THEY CAN OVERCOME ANY DIFFICULTIES

—Rasim Abdullayev， Representative of the Azerbaijanian Sharg Ulduzu Winery in China

Hello！ I am Rasim Abdullayev from Russia. I am a representative of the Azerbaijanian Sharg Ulduzu Winery in China.

This has been a very difficult year for people all around the world. As for the wine business， this didnt greatly affect our domestic sales in the Chinese market， since the pandemic occurred on the eve of the Spring festival. At that time， we were already winding down for the year. However， this did affect our export supplies to China and the implementation of our future plans， especially since I flew back to Russia during the Spring Festival holidays and cant return back to China. As for business in general， everything is now much more complicated. There have also been fluctuations in demand. As Keynes said， “Supply generates demand” and “demand generates supply”.

As a person who has lived in China for more than 10 years， I can honestly say that I am not surprised at the effectiveness of the methods of the Chinese government. The Chinese people have long shown and in fact proved to everyone that they can overcome any difficulty as soon as possible and as ef- fectively as possible.

There are seven main trends which I have seen since the start of the pandemic. Trend 1： A drug development revolution with advanced COVID-19 testing and vaccine development. Trend 2： Continued expansion of remote working and videoconferencing. Trend 3： Contactless delivery and shipping remains a part of the new normal. Trend 4： Telehealth and telemedicine are flourishing. Trend 5： Online education and e-learning are now part of the educational system. Trend 6： A.I.， robotics， internet of things， and industrial automation are all growing rapidly. Trend 7： Ongoing autonomous driving innovation.

Finally， I would like to wish everyone a Happy Chinese Spring Festival. Wishing everyone good health， success and prosperity. Love and be loved. 春節(jié)快樂！

CHANGING OUR BUSINESS STRATEGY IN TIME TO UNEARTH MORE OPPORTUNITIES

—Lewis McCarthy， Partner at Pennyfields

Im Lewis McCarthy， a partner at Pennyfields-an Entertainment， Sports and Lifestyle marketing agency based in Beijing. Named after the first location of Londons Chinatown， our cause is to help Chinese brands become loved overseas by reaching customers through marketing in these areas.

Pennyfields became Chinas leading agency in handling foreign celebrities when they came to China to promote Hollywood movies. The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly affected this business as all non-essential travel has been stopped. Since then， we have pivoted our business and moved into brand partnerships — consulting and negotiating for brands when they enter into partnerships in film and sports marketing.

Our leadership is a mix of British and Chinese， and we have clients all over the world — we have seen firsthand how different countries have managed the pandemic. Whilst the Chinese governments policies have been stricter than those of most other countries， we believe that Chinas response has been much more effective.

Currently， there is still some hesitation from Chinese brands to invest in overseas marketing as the pandemic situation remains uncertain. This has created a buyers market， and as such， there are huge opportunities for brands who want to acquire a market share.

This year offers more hope as the world recovers and vaccines are rolled out. 2021 presents massive opportunities for Chinese brands who are ambitious. As we enter the year of the Ox， my wish is for brands to become more bullish and brave. Should any Chinese companies be looking for assistance with overseas marketing， they are welcome to contact me in English or Chinese.