About us
About CEC Group &
China Expert Consulting GmbH
The company history of the CEC Group - China Expert Consulting GmbH
Our company, which is managed according to family principles and ethical principles, has its roots as far back as the beginning of the 20th century, when the ancestor of the company founder, René C. Steininger, first did business with China, via the founder of Sinology in Germany, Prof. Dr. Hans Steininger of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, a distant relative, to the origins of Hong Kong Economic. Co in the 90s of the last century and the company China Expert Consulting.
The CEC Group, in particular the German China Expert Consulting GmbH with headquarter in Nuremberg (Germany), Hong Kong and Shanghai is an international consulting company, which has specialized for over 20 years in the field of Greater China in the areas of management consulting, company foundations, legal advice, tax consulting, auditing.
Originally founded as a sole proprietorship by our 1st managing partner Dipl.-Kfm. Univ. René C. Steininger in Burg Thann near Nuremberg with the main focus on management consulting and seminars. Due to increasing demand, the company soon moved its headquarters directly to the well-known Suedwestpark, one of the largest industrial parks in Germany in Nuremberg. Among the customers at that time were mainly companies that wanted to prepare their employees for work in China, whereby the automotive industry and its suppliers as well as the electronics industry and mechanical engineering accounted for a large share.
In 2005, Mr. Jia Li, attorney at law in Nuremberg, joined as a partner and in 2007 the German company was converted into a GmbH (limited liability company). The specialization took place also in the field of company formations, legal advice and tax consultancy for German companies in Mainland China including Hong Kong and Taiwan. During the same period, branch offices were established in Shanghai and Hong Kong and through our partners in many regions of China.
The CEC Group (Hong Kong) Ltd. is the mother company in Hong Kong and China, to which China Expert Consulting GmbH has belonged since 2018. It is headed by the CEO Dipl.-Kfm. Univ. René C. Steininger.
The Managing directors of the CEC Group - China Expert Consulting GmbH
René C. STEININGER, (Dipl.-Kfm. Univ. (BBA/MBA), Economist, B.A. (Dong Bang University, Seoul, South Korea), Postgraduate Diploma (University of South Wales, U.K.), M.H.K.M.A. (Hong Kong)), (Chinese name Chi Sim, actually "The Venerable" Chi Sim see below), Managing Partner of China Expert Consulting GmbH and CEO of CEC Group (Hong Kong) Ltd, studied business administration at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg with the main focus on International management for China, management consulting as well as finance with a degree in business administration. Additional studies of British insurance law with acquisition of the international FCII licence. Further additional studies of German tax law. Scientific research on the market entry of German companies into the People's Republic of China with regard to legal, tax, personnel, intercultural and marketing issues with the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
Mr. Steininger grew up together with Chinese people as a child in Germany and is a distant relative of the founder of German Sinology Univ.-Prof. Dr. Hans Steininger (1920-1990) from Erlangen-Nuremberg who founded the chair of Sinology at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
Before studying business administration, Mr. Steininger worked for several years as an underwriting managerr for a large insurance company in the field of private health insurance and life insurance as well as in the investment sector.
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He is still a financial and investment advisor in Germany within the framework of China Expert Consulting GmbH and is officially licensed by the Germany Chamber of Industry and Commerce.
For many years he has worked as a management consultant in mainland China and Hong Kong. More than 25 years experience in China. Implementation of training of innumerable executives of medium-sized companies and large corporations. Intermediate knowledge of the Chinese language, especially the Hong Kong dialect (Cantonese). Additional studies of Buddhism in English language with a postgratuated diploma from the University of South Wales, UK, and a B. A. in Buddhist Studies from the World Buddhist University, Bangkok and Dong Bang University in Seoul, South Korea.
Mr. Steininger is also an ordained abbot and European chancellor of one of the largest orders of Korean Zen Buddhism, which plays an important role in the areas of leadership, teamwork, mindfulness and business ethics, especially in top management. In this respect he also advises top managers. He was awarded the title "Venerable" in South Korea in 2016. In the same spirit, he was also a visiting associate professor in the USA.
Mr. Steininger is very active in the scientific research of business ethics of German companies and has already published several papers on this subject. His current research project involves the application of business ethics principles to the stakeholders (investors, managers, employees, suppliers, customers) of companies.
Mr. Steininger has been a full member of the Hong Kong Management Association in Hong Kong and the Federal Association of German Economists and Business Economists since 2002 and has had his second residence in Hong Kong for many years, in addition to his main residence in Germany.
He is active in the management of various companies in Germany, Hong Kong and South Korea in various industries.
Long-term research discussions with Duke Prof. Dr. Kong Teh-Cheng, head of the Confucius family and former member of the Parliament of the Republic of China under President Chiang Kai-Shek, with written authorization to teach Confucian principles in the West, and Prof. Dr. Stan Shih, CEO, visiting professor at Harvard University and founder of the Acer Computer Group.
Mr. Steininger is responsible for the areas of management consulting, marketing, seminars, company foundations as well as initial talks in the non-legal area in Germany and Hong Kong. Mr. Steininger speaks German and fluent English. In addition, he has knowledge in the field of Mandarin Chinese and Cantonese, as well as the Indian languages Pali and Sanskrit and some Korean.
Jia LI (LL.B., LL.M., M.A.),
who comes from an influential Chinese family from Tianjin, studied Chinese and German law at the universities of Tianjin (China) and Heidelberg (Germany) with Bachelor of Law and Master of Law (LL.M.) degrees, which he completed with distinction. He is the 2nd managing director of China Expert Consulting GmbH, as well as the branch office in China.
Furthermore, he studied German tax law with an M. A. degree in law at the University of Bayreuth (Germany), where he also worked for some time as assistant to the professor of law.
Mr. Li has 20 years of experience in the field of Chinese law and especially commercial law as an active lawyer with court admission in the People's Republic of China. Previously, he worked for many years in law firms in the People's Republic of China, in particular with the consulting firm Rödl & Partner as a China consultant. Mr. Li is alternately based in Nuremberg and Shanghai and is mainly responsible for the management of consulting in the areas of company formation, legal advice, tax advice, auditing for China. Mr. Li speaks German, English and Chinese fluently.