On July 23, 2019, following careful preparations by the CCCEU, a face-to-face lunch meeting was held in Brussels between chamber representatives and Othmar Karas, vice president of the European Parliament. Attendees included Zhou Lihong, CCCEU president, and leaders of Chinese enterprises in Europe including Huawei, ZTE, COSCO and ICBC.

CCCEU President Zhou Lihong expressed gratitude to Karas and introduced the purpose and objectives of the chamber. Zhou said that CCCEU has more than 50 official members from more than 20 member states of the EU and China, covering more than 10 industries. The chamber aims to promote China-EU trade and investment cooperation, guide members to abide by EU laws and regulations, conduct dialogue with relevant EU institutions, and strengthen communication and exchange with the EU. President Zhou underscored that in a world of increasing uncertainty, communication, understanding and cooperation are vital for future China-EU relations. Indeed, the chamber was established precisely for this purpose. 

Karas congratulated the founding of the CCCEU and emphasized the importance of China-EU economic relations. He hopes that the chamber will become a new bridge to promote China-EU cooperation.

Karas also discussed the outcomes of the recent EU elections. He said that according to Ursula von der Leyen, the newly-elected president of the European Commission, Europe will actively strive for its own interests in the future, but this does not mean "protectionism" or that Europe is "supreme." Europe will remain open and pursue multilateralism. In terms of China-EU economic cooperation, Karas hoped that on the basis of fairness and win-win cooperation, China and the EU will work together to reach a legal and economic cooperation framework built on tolerance and understanding. He also hoped that the CCCEU will play an important role in representing Chinese companies in communicating with the EU and further promote cooperation between China and Europe in various fields.

The value of this dialogue with the EU's top leader was recognized by the Mission of China to the EU and CCCEU members. Through this kind of face-to-face dialogue, the chamber can act as an effective platform for communication. In the future, the CCCEU will take the EU Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC) as a benchmark, and follow the instructions of Premier Li to serve, listen and enhance China's image. The chamber will accelerate work to become an effective institution so as to better serve China and  its member enterprises.