The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) organized a seminar: “Growing a Business in China: Success Stories”. This event took place on 16 September 2015 at the Club of Flanders in Gent.

The goal of the event was to share, discuss and exchange knowledge and experiences between companies doing business with or investing in China. Following the introduction by Mrs Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director, Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce, case studies of doing business and investing in China were presented by Mr Hans Deprettere, Sales Export Manager Asia, Orfit Industries and Mr Adam Sneep, Chief Executive Officer, Adifo. The event was concluded by an exchange of views and a networking drink.

The Chinese Cultural Center in Brussels was opened on September 16, 2015 by Mme Liu Yandong, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China; H.E. Qu Xing, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Belgium; H.E. Mrs. Yang Yanyi, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to the European Union; and Mr. Didier Reynders, Vice Premier and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belgium. The Chinese Cultural Center is located at Rue Philippe Lebon 2-4, 1000, Brussels. Mrs. Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director, represented the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) at the inauguration ceremony.

China is to introduce new vehicle emission standards by the end of next year. Pei Xiaofei of the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) said the government was now formulating its sixth set of standards. Curbs on pollutants such as nitrogen oxide and particulates in vehicle exhausts will be 30% tougher. A consultation exercise on the new standards will be completed by the middle of next year. Pei said the adoption of China’s fifth set of emission standards was progressing well. They are roughly equivalent to standards adopted in Europe in 2009. All vehicles across the country have to meet the fifth set of standards by 2017. Beijing, Shanghai, Nanjing and some cities in Guangdong have already enforced the China V emissions standards, with Guangzhou due to comply by the end of the year. Vehicle exhausts have been identified as one of the big contributors to air pollution in China.

China will open its economy wider to the outside world and make it easier for foreigners to obtain permanent residency to help deepen domestic reforms, President Xi Jinping told a leading group in charge of steering the country’s reforms. “China should make unswerving efforts to attract foreign investment and foreign technology, and improve the mechanism for the country’s opening up,” Xi was quoted by Xinhua as saying. The leading group approved a directive that vowed to make it easier for foreigners to obtain residency, including revising the application requirements and simplifying the process. Currently foreigners can obtain residency through investing a minimum of USD500,000, employment in senior roles or as a family member of a Chinese citizen.

China’s financial risks are manageable despite the steep increase in non-performing loans (NPLs) during the first six months of the year, said Yang Zaiping, Executive Vice President of the China Banking Association (CBA). “Allowances for the loan losses of banking institutions reached about CNY3 trillion, which is enough to cover the existing non-performing loans of CNY1.76 trillion.” Yang added that the rise in bad loans is inevitable due to a rapid credit expansion since the financial crisis of 2008. Bank loans increased by more than CNY9.59 trillion in 2009 alone, up 31.74% from the previous year. The asset quality of Chinese banks is superior and stable compared with their international counterparts, Yang said. As of June 30, the average NPL ratio was 1.82% for China’s banking institutions and 1.5% for domestic commercial banks. In contrast, at the end of 2014, the NPL ratio was 2.46% for the first 100 of the Top 1000 World Banks ranked by The Banker magazine. Yang urged Chinese lenders to keep a close watch on bad loans so that their growth can be contained, the China Daily reports. Bank profits have also fallen sharply. During the first six months, the net profit growth of 16 listed commercial banks slowed to 2.58% from 10.66% a year earlier.