Survey of Danish Companies in China: Challenges And Opportunities

China is Denmark’s sixth largest export market, but traditional cross-border trade statistics only tell part of the story that links the Danish business community to China.

Trade statistics largely underestimates the actual importance that China plays in a multitude of ways to Danish economic interests and to the overall Danish economy. Furthermore, Danish companies are global leaders in key sectors and provide highly specialized and valuable solutions that are essential to the continued, sustainable development of China and the Chinese economy.

Despite this growing interdependence and the potential for mutual benefits, Danish companies continue to face substantial challenges in China. These obstacles limit the ability of Danish companies to initiate or expand activities in China on a level playing field, to the detriment of the Danish business community as well as – ultimately – the Chinese economy, development and consumers.

Policy makers and company executives need information to guide decisions and priorities in the years to come. This survey will help fill part of that void by providing comprehensive data on the views and assessments of the executives representing the Danish business community in China.

The results are notable in several ways. In terms of the validity of the data, the findings are ensured by a high response rate from participants of several sectors. The survey was developed and administered by bringing together the Danish diplomatic, commercial and academic presence in China. And finally, for taking the concerns of the combined European business leaders in China as its starting point for identifying and prioritizing the most pressing challenges faced by the Danish business community specifically.

This report contains the findings of the original comprehensive survey conducted in November-December 2019 as well the results of a smaller follow-up survey conducted in May 2020. This two-step approach was not planned, but is the result of the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020. In light of the escalating crisis, it was decided to postpone plans to present the findings to a later date as well as to conduct a small add-on survey in order to revisit a number of questions related to companies’ future plans and expectations. It has not been possible to ensure a one-to-one match between the respondents of the two surveys, but nevertheless the supplementary study serves to provide valuable insights into the longer-term impact of COVID-19 on the Danish business community in China.