The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) organized a meeting and reception with the Ambassador and Consuls General of Belgium in China on 15 December 2017 at Umicore in Brussels. This meeting provided an excellent opportunity to discuss your companies’ activities in China with the Ambassador and Consuls General of Belgium in China. The theme of the speeches was: Economic Opportunities in the Chinese “New Era”.

Following an introduction by Mr Stefaan Vanhooren, Chairman, Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce
 Ambassador Marc Vinck delivered the keynote speech.

Mr Paul Lambert, Consul General of Belgium in Shanghai, Mr Joris Salden, Consul General of Belgium in Guangzhou, and Ms Michèle Deneffe, Consul General of Belgium in Hong Kong and Macao, also attended the event.

Exchange of views and networking with the Ambassador and Consuls General concluded the event.

China’s annual three-day Central Economic Work Conference began on December 18, during which the ruling Communist Party’s economic agenda for 2018 will be mapped out. Led by President Xi Jinping, the conference involves hundreds of senior leaders from the Communist Party, and has been held every year since 1994. The meetings usually take place behind closed doors in a heavily guarded hotel in Beijing.

A statement about the general conclusions will be released via state media after the conference, but internal debates and specific instructions are usually kept under wraps. Last year’s event took place at a time when the Chinese economy was facing a mountain of debt at home and a barrage of threats from the United States, including a tougher trade stance from President Donald Trump, higher interest rates, and lower business taxes in the U.S. At a meeting of the 25-member Politburo, the Chinese leadership listed measures to curb financial risks, eradicate poverty and fight pollution as the top economic priorities for 2018.

The Politburo statement also highlighted the need to reform the property market, a key topic at the Central Economic Work Conference. The Conference is held at a time that the United States, the European Union and Japan are expected to announce a joint effort aimed at confronting China over its excess industrial capacity and trade practices. They are expected to make a joint statement on the sidelines of the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires. It was unclear whether China would be specifically named in the statement.

Washington, Brussels and Tokyo have raised complaints about China’s subsidies to state-owned enterprises, state financing and investment rules that often force foreign firms to transfer strategic technologies. They argue that such distortions have fueled rampant overcapacity in some industries such as steel and aluminum, which are flooding global markets and forcing lay-offs elsewhere, the South China Morning Post reports.

Carmaker BMW believes chic but tiny dwellings could represent the future of city living and is rolling out an ambitious urbanism and architecture project, Mini Living, in Shanghai. As part of the project, the company is transforming an abandoned paint factory into housing.

BMW revealed its first concept apartment at the 2016 Salone de Mobile – Milan’s annual furniture exhibition – but now the Mini Living team and Chinese developer Nova Property Investment are making the design a reality. The companies have not yet revealed a timeline or pricing for the development. Developers will combine six buildings, which will each include two to 10 residential units. Construction will begin this month. Residents will be able to partake in cultural events, rooftop farming, and a car-sharing program. The building will also feature plenty of communal spaces for working, eating, and hanging out.

Each apartment will be no larger than a few hundred square feet, though BMW predicts that residents will not spend much time in the small spaces. The building will include shops, restaurants, a roof terrace, gardens, exhibition areas, and a food market. There will be two different apartment options. One-bedroom units will have access to a shared kitchen and communal areas, while those with two-bedrooms will have private kitchens. The design builds on Mini Living’s concept apartment, which was unveiled last year. The company believes that micro-apartments could represent the future of city living, as urban metropolises become even more dense.

“Let’s take a look at one of the most pressing challenges we are facing today in our highly dense urban environment. It becomes obvious that, on the one hand, it’s the sheer scarcity of space and, on the other hand, how we use the space we have available,” Oke Hauser, creative lead at Mini Living, said, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

Shanghai International Port Group (SIPG), the dominant public terminal operator in the city, plans to make better use of internet and automation technologies to consolidate its leading position in the shipping industry worldwide. SIPG said it aimed to create “smart, green, hi-tech and efficient terminals” to bolster Shanghai’s efforts to become an international shipping center by 2020. “Our three years of effort to build new berths have been worth it,” said Chen Xuyuan, Chairman of SIPG. “We will deepen innovation by using more technology, enhancing management efficiency and creating new business models.”

Yangshan Port, which is operated by SIPG, recently launched seven berths costing CNY12.8 billion as part of the fourth phase of its development. The 2,350-meter harbor has 130 automated guided vehicles, the largest fleet of any container terminal worldwide. SIPG said the operation of the fourth phase reflected its first step in building a port operating system in the digital era. The group will analyze business data, make better use of the internet and the Internet of Things (IoT) and reduce pollution to help support growth of the port.

Shanghai has been ranked as the world’s largest container port for seven consecutive years. Last year, the port handled 37.1 million TEU. The volume so far this year is up 1.6% from last year. The port is expected to process 40 million TEU this year, according to SIPG, of which 17 million TEU container traffic. Xu Lirong, Chairman of China Cosco Shipping Corp, said the country’s largest ocean carrier would cooperate with SIPG to increase the flow of cargo, talent and capital through the port of Shanghai, the South China Morning Post reports.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland surged 90.7% year-on-year to hit nearly CNY125 billion in November. The number of new foreign-funded companies surged 161.5% to 4,641 in November, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). The growth rate was dramatically higher compared with October, when the country’s FDI rose 5% year-on-year.

In the first 11 months, FDI rose 9.8% year-on-year to reach CNY803.62 billion, Ministry Spokesman Gao Feng said. The FDI growth was much faster than the 1.9% year-on-year increase registered in the first 10 months, according to Gao. FDI in the service sector posted strong growth of 13.5% year-on-year to CNY582.75 billion. The manufacturing sector attracted FDI worth CNY207.76 billion, up 0.2% year-on-year, accounting for 25.9% of the total FDI. Some CNY60.15 billion flowed into the high-tech manufacturing sector, an increase of 9.9% from a year earlier. The high-tech service sector actually used CNY177.1 billion in FDI, more than double the amount for the same period of last year. FDI into central China registered rapid growth in the first 11 months, with the total volume up 29% year-on-year to CNY52.09 billion.

Analysts attributed the fast FDI growth to the fast increase of new foreign-funded companies as well as effective policy that has boosted the confidence of foreign investors, and capital injection for some big projects. The number of new foreign-funded companies hit 30,815 in the first 11 months, up 26.5% year-on-year.

Outbound direct investment (ODI) from January to November fell 33.5% year-on-year as authorities curbed irrational investment overseas. Domestic investors spent a total of US$107.55 billion on 5,796 enterprises from 174 countries and regions during the period. Chinese authorities have set stricter rules and advised companies to make investment decisions more carefully since last year, the Shanghai Daily reports.