• Four organizations from Europe and China sign a cooperation memorandum to promote networking and cooperation between private companies in both markets.
• As co-signatories of the memorandum, the European Chemistry Partnering (ECP) provides the virtual platform for Sino-European cooperation initiations.
• The 5th ECP will take place online from 24 to 26 February 2021.

The pandemic shows: We need more innovations faster. Particularly in times of limited economic activity, the foundations must be laid for a more global and therefore better future. The cooperation memorandum between the China International Chamber of Commerce for the Private Sector (CICCPS), the EU-China Municipal Development Commission (ECMDC), the European Consortium of Technology Transfer S.A. (ECTT) and the European Chemistry Partnering (ECP) is one important cornerstone.

At today’s signing of the memorandum, an online press conference brought together the President and Party Secretary of the CICCPS, Yanguo Wang, the CICCPS Co-Chairman and the Chairman of the ECMDC, Yi Zhang, the head of the German office of the CICCPS and Managing President of the ECTT, Dr. Henrich Guntermann, and ECP initiator Dr. Holger Bengs.

The aim of this unique initiative is to support small and medium-sized companies in establishing contacts with companies in the respective other market. "Especially in Corona times, the development of cooperation and innovation is of crucial importance. We cannot afford to hibernate," said Dr. Henrich Guntermann, who established contact with ECP initiator Dr. Holger Bengs. "I know the ECP as a unique networking event around the chemical industry. The concept and the spirit of the ECP are exactly what we need for networking between Europe and China. Therefore, the ECP and Holger Bengs are ideal partners for developing cooperation and business relations in this direction".

Yanguo Wang: "Since its foundation by the central government, the CICCPS has played a key role in the successful internationalization of Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises. We support international partnerships of our member companies to the best of our ability and in many ways. Best wishes for the ECP to build a stable and innovative platform for the cooperation of Chinese and European companies for mutual benefit".

Yi Zhang: "The future of our two countries depends largely on scientific and technical innovations. In both China and Germany, the chemical industry plays a key role in maintaining and increasing the prosperity of our citizens. One of our core tasks as ECMDC is to expand and strengthen the partnership-based cooperation between Chinese and European companies and institutions. We see the ECP as an excellent showcase to achieve this important goal in the chemical industry and to witness numerous long-term "win-win" partnerships in the future".

ECP initiator Dr. Holger Bengs said on the occasion of the signing of the memorandum:

"We are delighted to have gained such potent partners for the cooperation with ECP. The CICCPS represents more than 5 million companies in China. German and European companies from the chemical industry and its user sectors can tap into enormous potential. The Memorandum is the starting point, the cooperation between the ECP and our Chinese partners is designed for the long term. We are looking forward to welcoming the first Chinese guests at the 5th ECP at the end of February.
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