(L-R): Jacques Bortuzzo, ChinaLux; Andrei Rădulescu, Institute for World Economy; Credit: Chroniclr.lu

On Tuesday 15 September 2026, the China-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (ChinaLux) held its Welcome Back Members Cocktail at Linklaters in Luxembourg-Kirchberg, in an event attended by over a hundred members.

The event brought ChinaLux members together after the summer break, offering an opportunity to "reconnect, catch up with old faces and meet new ones" over "great drinks and even better company".

Following a welcome cocktail, Jingya Tian, ChinaLux Vice-Chairman, in her role as event compere, welcomed all attendees to the first event after the summer holidays.

Jacques Bortuzzo, ChinaLux chairman, introduced the evening by describing this event as the first of many between the summer holidays and the Christmas holidays, working together in the meantime, while having fun at the same time. He thanked Linklaters, the event host, for their support of the event. 

Nicki Kaiser, Managing Partner of Linklaters in Luxembourg, said it was a "real pleasure" to welcome ChinaLux, the speaker and members of the wider community and representatives of other chambers of commerce. He explained that connections are important and international connections are part of what they do. Its connection with China and Asia is long standing, with 2026 representing the 50th anniversary of their Hong Kong office. He mentioned China and India taking an ever-increasing role in global affair. 

Lichaun Guo, First Secretary and Head of the Bilateral Affairs Service at the Chinese Embassy in Luxembourg, talked about people enjoying their summer holidays in Europe and in China. He talked briefly about macroeconomics, cooperation and common development, with ChinaLux instrumental over the years in bringing people together to explore and discuss different topics. He said that China is striving to improve the life of its citizens, explaining that looking at the big picture is a good way of reviewing China's (economic) performance. 

Andrei Rădulescu, Senior Researcher at the Institute for World Economy and Founder of Top Macroeconomic Research, was Guest Speaker on the topic of "the state of the global economy". 

He made a presentation, focussing on "the most important messages". He talked about a world full of dangers, with some people trying to identify opportunities. He said that "AI will amplify the human potential" and he also emphasised uncertainty going forward.

He said that it has been a year of risks, and geopolitics, and that uncertainly is side by side with confidence, remarking that the world economy has been remarkably resilient to shocks. He referenced the launch of AI which he said will transform our lives. He also mentioned a divergence between the world's largest trading blocks. 

Over recent years, slow growth has been matched by higher debt. He referenced the US bonds market and the real cost of financing is higher than the growth of the economy. 

He also mentioned the gap between optimism in the markets against pessimism in the high street. 

Regarding China, the talked about the implementation of AI, with the implementation of the current ten-year plan expected to see dividends. Meanwhile, in Europe, he said the situation is "very bad", with a very low growth forecast compared to China and the US. 

He said that we are living in a period of unprecedent access to natural resources: at the end of the day we will survive, but these resources are needed for AI. The investment in AI has grown by 90%. 

He concluded by showing a "Hunger Index" from across the world, with no progress seen over the past decade... 

After the speeches, Jingya Tian invited new members to introduce themselves before everyone enjoyed a networking cocktail.