国内英语新闻:Interview: International SOS taps China market on B&R initiative

BEIJING, March 24 (Xinhua) -- International SOS, a provider of risk management and emergency services, is positive on the Chinese market and looking at opportunities from the Belt and Road Initiative as Chinese companies go global.

Headquartered in London and Singapore, the world's leading medical and travel security service company believes that the Chinese market shows huge potential, according to Arnaud Vaissie, Co-founder and CEO of International SOS, in an interview.

"As China enters the second phase of high-quality development with even more of an open door policy, we can better help Chinese companies establish their global mobility plans," he said.

China's business travel market has become the largest in the world, ahead of the United States, according to Vaissie, citing the 9-percent growth rate last year and referencing a recent study on corporate travel conducted by Ctrip.

The company is about to launch a new platform on WeChat for Chinese employees of its clients and to provide more services in Mandarin, he said.

He said he was impressed by "the speed at which Chinese companies are expanding."

Under the initiative, which aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa, Chinese companies are showing interest in "complex territories," according to the CEO.

For Vaissie, more Chinese companies, especially state-owned enterprises, are seeking global standards that offer advice from home to better protect the safety of their employees during their overseas expansion.

"When we arrived in China, we were actually commissioned by the government to help foreign companies in China. Today more than half -- and a growing part of what we do -- is to help Chinese companies going outside of China, which is a huge change," he said.

Established in 1985, International SOS operates companies in 90 countries with 11,000 employees, and its Chinese clients have included infrastructure-related state-owned enterprises, government agencies and organizations since it entered the Chinese market in 1989.

"Now we see the emergence of the tech industry in particular," said the CEO, who sees the potential of the tech and education sector in the Chinese market.

In December last year, International SOS released its 2018 global travel risk map, which listed China as one of the safest travel destinations in the world.

For Vaissie, safety in China is not a big issue for foreigners, while he applauded the development of China's medical care.

"The capability and equipment of large hospitals in China have massively improved. Now they are at top international standards," he said.

International SOS, which started as an emergency response company, now provides a wider range of services, including assessments, advice and emergency assistance services.

"We manage 4 million cases a year, 80 percent of which are assessment and advice," said the CEO.

"If you want to prevent emergencies, it is all about planning and preparation," he said, addressing the importance of prevention in crisis management.

Facing an explosion in travel worldwide, Vaissie advises integrated management of both security and medical risks.