Coronavirus: Infopoint for Affected Companies

Lifestyle & Travel ♦ Published: February 19, 2020; 12:12 ♦ (Vindobona)

The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber has set up a central contact point in Vienna for companies that have requests in connection with the coronavirus. The "Coronavirus Infopoint" brings together all information from Austria and abroad on this topic.

Coronavirus checks at Beijing metro stations: The further development of the epidemic is not yet foreseeable, but effects on the bilateral economic relations between Austria and China are to be expected. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons / Pau Colominas / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

Experts are in daily contact with affected Austrian companies and the six foreign trade centres in China (Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Chengdu) and maintain close contact with the BMEIA Federal Ministry for Europe Integration and Foreign Affairs.

With a bilateral trade volume of about 14 billion euros in 2019, China is by far Austria's most important trading partner in Asia.

There are almost 1,000 branches of Austrian companies in China.

A slowdown in economic growth in China could have negative effects on bilateral foreign trade and investment projects.

Currently, Austrian companies from the service sector (tourism, logistics), plant engineering and construction and companies with large branches and/or important supply chains in China are particularly affected.

Moreover, numerous major events in China (e.g. trade fairs, delegation trips) have already been postponed or cancelled.

The further development of the epidemic is not yet foreseeable, but effects on the bilateral economic relations between Austria and China are to be expected.

Current travel and health information on the topic can be found on the Vindobona.org homepage in the context of further reports.