Chairman's Letter to Members
Dear Members,
I am delighted to open this letter to members by announcing the Board’s unanimous decision to promote Mr Bede Payne to “Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director”. As some context, Bede re-joined AustCham Shanghai in July 2020, just as our Chamber and membership were grappling with the compounding challenges of COVID-19 and deteriorating bilateral relations. He has brought to the role energy, intellect, and heart, as well as an inclusive community-centric leadership style that has been the pillar on which our recent success and survival has been built.
Our Chamber consequently finds itself in a strong position on many fronts, despite the headwinds we have faced together along the way. On a personal level, it has honestly been a privilege to work alongside him. Please join me in congratulating Bede, and perhaps just saying a quiet ‘thank you’ for his service to our community, whenever you next have the opportunity.
Staying on the topic of Leadership talent, I am delighted to also announce that the Board has made an offer to Simon Woods to take on the role of General Manager, which he has accepted. Simon brings with him a wealth of operations and China experience and will take on the task of leading day-to-day operations of the Chamber, as soon as formalities are resolved. I’m confident in the abilities of Simon and Bede and the current team to navigate any challenges ahead.
Government Relations
The dominant topic amongst our Membership at present is of course the state of the Australia-China bilateral relationship, which has sunk to its lowest point in living memory. Despite these escalating tensions, there are still positive signs - primarily that core commercial and people-to-people relationships remain strong. AustCham Shanghai is of course committed to maintaining positive dialogue with both Chinese and Australian partners, as part of our mission to be the bridge for trade and investment.
Australian Stakeholder Relations
AustCham Shanghai has always been open about providing on the ground feedback and advice to Stakeholders in Australia. In a time when borders are closed, we find ourselves in the unique position of bearing witness to China’s recovery from both COVID-19 and from the related economic hurdles.
We have been open in offering our views to stakeholders such as Australian Boards, executive teams, and Australian Government officials. Recently, we wrote to the Hon. Dan Tehan MP, Minister of Trade, Tourism, and Investment and made some significant observations. Primarily, we wrote to:
- Ask that a risk-based approach be taken to border openings, with China being considered a low-risk country (at the time of writing);
- Request that the government consider a trial of returning international students to Australia; and
- Note the importance to trade of an unimpeded right to return home for Australians working in China.
Most importantly, we believe that business can and does play a role in maintaining strong relations between China-Australia. We are open to suggestions from members, and stakeholders about what more we can do to play this positive role in these complicated times.
Since we wrote to the Minister, a very welcome announcement has been made by the Australian Government that they will prioritize the return of International Students. We are in the process of scheduling a meeting with Minister Tehan to discuss our contributions.
Chinese Stakeholder Relations
AustCham Shanghai has continued to foster positive engagements with our key Shanghai stakeholders. Since I last wrote to you in February, we have:
- Met with Senior leaders of Invest Shanghai and rejoined the Invest Shanghai Consultative Forum;
- Met with the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office to discuss maintaining lines of communication and to describe AustCham Shanghai’s continued commitment to the Shanghai community;
- Signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Shanghai Entrepreneurs Association (SEA) – one of Chinese largest business associations.
Our engagement with Chinese stakeholders is not conceptual, while we plan to keep the channels of communication open, we more importantly seek to provide opportunities for our members to have a voice and access commercial opportunities and networks.
For example, on 12 May 2021, Board Director Tony Zhang and Executive Director Bede Payne travelled with the Foreign Affairs Office, and other Australian officials, to the Lingang Special Area to investigate opportunities for Australian Business – including the various policies that might be attractive to members. Additionally, the Chamber is working with the SEA to hold some events that bring together AustCham Shanghai members with senior Chinese executives in their industries.
Steadfast in our Mission
Despite the challenges in arranging large events, AustCham Shanghai continues to provide both social and business networking opportunities for our members and friends. It was great to see more than 400 guests come through our Australia Day event on27 March 2021 – a big thanks to the Camel Group for helping us host such a good event where we were able to raise nearly RMB 20,000 for Charity.
I’m also happy to see our industry committees working on a range of interesting projects. The Financial Services Committee, led by Toby Graham, has created an IIT Working Group to support the Chamber in educating and advocating around changes to the tax regulations. This group has already helped facilitate some advocacy with Shanghai Municipal Government as well as collaboration with other international Chambers whose members are also impacted. This committee also led a collaboration with CPA Australia that brought together CFOs in our community to share common experiences and challenges.
The HR committee, led by Becky Xia, has run another successful HRD forum that brings together senior HR members to discuss issues such as talent attraction and retention – a live challenge for almost every member in our community.
The F&B committee, led by Frank Li, is negotiating with stakeholders to stand-up an industry forum in the second half of the year and the Education Committee, led by Andrew Nip, has been collaborating with members to deliver internship programs for high school students through the APEG internship program, and university students through programs with the University of Sydney Business School and the Australian National University Law School.
Individual Income Tax Changes
The Chinese government has been implementing staged changes to tax regulations since 2018 with the objective of simplifying and equalizing tax across multiple areas. While these changes are not confined to foreign workers or businesses but there are some changes that directly impact foreigners working in China. The next tranche of change is scheduled for implementation in January 2022 and will see the removal or reduction of various tax-free or tax-deductible items for foreign workers. As a result, the impact on foreign workers with children studying in international schools is particularly significant.
AustCham Shanghai recommends that all businesses calculate and model the impact on their business and employees. If you are currently unclear on how the changes will impact you or your business and would like some professional advice – please contact the AustCham Shanghai Relationship Management team and they will connect you with a tax adviser who can provide a consultation. Click here to learn more about the impact of this tax change on the Australia-China business community and the Chamber's recent communication with local government.
Embracing Change
The Annual General Meeting will be run on 29 June 2021 and nominations for elections are being finalized now. I’m very happy to see the nominations committee reporting an exceptionally high-caliber, diverse and capable field of candidates have put their hands up to serve the community through the Board. Our future will undoubtably be in safe hands, and I look forward to formally congratulating our Directors
After nearly 5 years on the Board, I have decided not to stand for re-election this year. I am looking forward to spending a little more time with my (recently expanded) family, and feel the time is right to usher in the next phase of leadership for AustCham Shanghai. My time on the Board has been such a rewarding experience, on so many levels, and I can only thank my colleagues and mentors throughout all the ups and downs. As Chair, I am of course particularly proud of the achievements of the current Board and Executive through some extremely challenging times. Their commitment, divergent thinking, mutual respect and genuine passion to improve the lives of our Members. It is simply inspiring.
I would particularly like to thank our Deputy Chairman, Craig Weightman. His contributions and commitment to AustCham Shanghai over the last 20 years are immense, and he will be sorely missed. We wish him well back in Australia and have no doubt his voice will continue to be a catalyst for meaningful people-to-people relationships between Australia and China for many years to come.
I’ll close this Letter with a heartfelt request to please fully participate in the upcoming elections. This is the moment for you each and all to have an impact on your Chamber’s future. Having dedicated a little over 5 years of volunteer time to the Chamber myself, I can assure you that the individuals nominating for election will value and respect your interests, if you engage with them. My advice? Invite some of the nominees for a coffee, share your views and priorities, decide who will best represent your interests as a member, and don’t forget to vote!
Regards,
Simon Lance
Chairman of the Board
AustCham Shanghai
