President of the Chamber of Deputies Claude Wiseler sheds light on the purpose of the meeting requested by China's Hubei Province, with both countries looking to strengthening ties particularly in green finance.

Chinese Vice Minister of the Hubei Province, Ju Zhaohui, a permanent member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), announced a working visit to Luxembourg on short notice.

After their meeting on Tuesday, Chamber President Claude Wiseler provided further details on the purpose of the visit, explaining that Ju Zhaohui serves as Vice Minister of the Hubei Province, located in central China. Many may recognise the province's capital city, Wuhan, and with a population of 58 million, Hubei ranks ninth among China's 23 provinces.

Wiseler continues: "For us, it's not only important to maintain relations with Beijing or Shanghai but also to engage with other major Chinese provinces." He explains that a large portion of economic negotiations in China do indeed take place at the provincial level.

A recent development in July saw China's Central Committee of the CCP lay out new economic directions, particularly focusing on green finance. However, it remains to be seen how much of this will become reality.

Hubei holds a significant interest for Luxembourg for several reasons. Many Chinese banks have established themselves in Luxembourg, having "a strong focus on green finance," Wiseler points out. The delegation also visited the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Additionally, Hubei has one of China's largest logistics sectors, a field that plays a huge role for Luxembourg due to its central location in the European Union (EU). Luxembourg can also cooperate with Hubei in research, given Hubei's 125 universities and over one million students, along with three major national data centres.

According to Wiseler, the economic potential is huge and therefore it's important to establish relations. While the Chamber cannot sign agreements, meetings such as these serve as opportunities to exchange ideas. It is clear, however, that China is interested in exploring a potential collaboration "in the field of finance". Cooperation in tourism was also discussed.
 
When asked about how EU countries should approach relations with China, Wiseler stated that Luxembourg had clearly expressed its concerns to the Chinese delegation, including matters of human rights. "We understand that China is a partner on one hand but also a systemic rival on the other. We also see that China is trying to establish a foothold in countries that are historic partner countries of the EU," said Wiseler. He stressed that the EU must consider a strategy that stabilises and expands its relations with these countries. "This won't come without its challenges, but will be a central focus of European diplomacy and the development of Europe over the next five, ten, even 15 years," Wiseler concludes.