The new Sino-Austrian agreement intends to strengthen cooperation and exchange of experience between the cross-border e-commerce platforms of both countries.
Margarete Schramböck, Federal Minister for Digital and Economic Affairs, is currently in Beijing on a state visit aimed at paving the way for Austrian online businesses to enter the Chinese Market. Over the last few days, the Minister was welcomed for company visits at Alibaba and Huawei, where exchanges on current trends and e-commerce were held.
“This is an opportunity for Austrian companies to score points with quality and innovation ‘made in Austria’. At the same time, we also want to put the location more in the focus of our Chinese partners, and specifically promote corporate relocations to Austria”, Schramböck said.
The agreement should especially benefit Austrian SMEs, by facilitating contacts with the major Chinese e-commerce platforms and accelerating their entry on the Chinese market. The import and export of quality products and services through ecommerce platforms should also be supported. "China is by far Austria's most important trading partner in Asia and the second most important trading partner overseas after the USA. Since 2008, Austrian exports have doubled to a new record of around € 3.7 billion. This illustrates the market potential that China offers to Austrian companies," said the Schramböck.
The Minister of Economic Affairs plan its next official visit to China in Autumn, to attend the country's largest buyers' fair with 150 000 company representatives.
