The first deputy mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, has called for Chinese investment to accelerate the economic recovery and has encouraged the ten main Chinese companies based in the city to "strengthen their commitment" to it.
It has done so in a telematic meeting, organized by the City Council and Casa Asia, which has had municipal representatives and those of the ten main Chinese companies with commercial activities and interests in Barcelona, the consistory reported in a statement.
According to the City Council, the meeting has served to share the economic vision and get to know first-hand the situation of the main Chinese investment companies with a presence in Barcelona in the current global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
For Collboni, "it is a key moment to reach out to Chinese investment, which despite the impact of the crisis caused by the pandemic, continues to bet on investing in Barcelona and increasing the presence of companies and being part of the business fabric of the city and the metropolis ".
Chinese investment in Catalonia, concentrated in the Barcelona metropolitan area, amounted to 247.5 million euros in the 2015-2019 five-year period and, according to the council, "still has a long way to go given the weight of the Chinese economy in world GDP”.
"The economic reactivation of Barcelona happens because from the city we make efforts to reinvent ourselves but also so that there are more Chinese companies that bet on Barcelona as a strategic point in their action in the European and Latin American market", said Collboni.
According to data from ACCIÓ, in 2019 in Catalonia in 2019 there were 16 Chinese subsidiaries: "Barcelona represents for these companies a very attractive environment and growth potential in sectors linked to innovation and digital transformation such as mobility, automotive, logistics , electronics and industrial engineering ".
Representatives from AirChina, Aritex, Baosteel, China Construction Bank (CCB), China Certificate & Inspection Group (CCIC), COSCO Shipping Lines, Hai'er Iberia, Huawei Iberia, ICBC, and Keeway Motors have also participated in the meeting. assisted by the Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Barcelona, Li Nan.
Digital Newspaper Europa Press