Chinese travelers are not only fueling the country’s domestic tourism market, but also having a growing influence on regional and global economies, according to a study by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), which also shows Hong Kong and Macao are now considered among the industry’s elite destinations. City Travel & Tourism Impact 2018 assessed the economic contribution of the tourism industry in 72 cities worldwide. Its key findings were presented at the WTTC’s Asian Leaders Forum 2018 in Macao. “China is the one to watch on a number of levels. Chinese cities are really growing because of the increase in wealth and the number of people who are able to travel,” Olivia Ruggles-Brise, the WTTC’s Policy and Communications Director said. “Destinations close to mainland China, like Hong Kong, Macao, Bangkok and Jakarta, are also being driven by its outbound traffic.”

According to Cozystay, an online vacation rental platform targeting Chinese travelers, 145 million individual overseas trips were made by Chinese tourists in 2017, up from 10.5 million in 2000. The new total is roughly equal to the entire population of Russia. As only 7% of Chinese currently own a passport, it predicted the number of trips could mushroom to over 400 million by 2030. The WTTC study shows four of the five fastest-growing global cities in terms of direct travel and tourism-related GDP, in the decade to 2017, were Chinese – Chongqing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Guangzhou – and predicts that trend is likely to continue. Domestic spending remains the largest source of growth. In 2017, 95% of Chongqing’s tourism and travel related GDP was generated by Chinese travelers, while in Guangzhou they accounted for 90%, Shanghai 88%, Beijing 87% and Chengdu 83%.

The latest WTTC figures now show Hong Kong was the global city leader, with international spending there of USD39.2 billion, while Macao took second place at USD35.6 billion. Macao’s 14.2% growth in directly related travel and tourism GDP in 2017 was the second fastest in the world after Cairo, and its rapid ascent in the rankings was fueled largely by mainland visitors, who were treated as international in the report. “The degree to which the Chinese traveler is becoming increasingly sophisticated is changing. Once upon a time Chinese travelers really just wanted to buy things, now they are moving more towards experiences. Outbound Chinese tourism is massive and it is going to keep being massive,” James Riley, CEO of the Mandarin Oriental hotel group, told South China Morning Post. The WTTC’s biggest fear, however, is that a deterioration in political relations could impact the country’s abilities to lure overseas visitors.

Chinese fintech companies took four of the top 10 spots in the 2018 Fintech100 report, and three of the top five, as Chinese firms continue to build scale with a heavy emphasis on payments and insurance. KPMG and fintech investment firm H2 Ventures compiled and announced the ranking. Ant Financial topped the list, followed by JD Finance, while Du Xiaoman Financial ranked No 4 and Lufax, an online financial asset trading company that uses big data to analyze risk, came in at No 10. The companies’ user numbers are growing at a staggering rate, as are their product offerings.

Ant Financial is the world’s largest third-party payments platform. JD Finance uses its e-commerce expertise to provide finance across seven business areas, including consumer finance, crowdfunding and payment services. Du Xiaoman Financial provides short-term loan and investment services. “The 2018 Fintech100 showcases the increasing diversity and scale of the global fintech market. Payments and lending continue to be the dominant sectors. However, wealth management is taking off, with 14 companies on the list,” said Ian Pollari, global co-lead of KPMG Fintech. The list highlighted dynamic fintech companies from around the world that are transforming the financial services industry, from digital payments and lending, to insurtech and neo-banking.

Payments companies dominated the Fintech100, with 34 in total, followed by 22 in lending, 14 in wealth management and 12 in insurance. The U.S. topped the ranking with 18 fintech companies in the top 100, including three in the top 10, followed by the UK with 12, and China with 11. Australia and Singapore also placed strongly with seven and six companies, respectively. 36 countries are represented in the list this year, up from 29 in 2017 and 22 in 2016. Almost half of the companies on this year’s list were founded and continue to operate in emerging markets. Ben Heap, Founding Partner at H2 Ventures, said that the companies on the 2018 list have raised over USD52 billion in venture capital, more than double the total of last year’s list, and more than USD27 billion of capital in the past 12 months, a 366% increase over last year,” the China Daily reports.

The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce and the Government of Weihai are organizing a roundtable meeting with the Mayor of Weihai, Mr Zhang Haibo and his delegation. This meeting will take place on 7 November at 16h00 at the City Hall, Botermarkt 1 in Gent.

The Mayor of Weihai will offer insights on the economic environment and opportunities for partnerships in the Zone. Several of our members, already have major investments in Weihai such as Bekaert, Beaulieu Technical Textiles and Beaulieu Fibers & Yarns. During this session, Bekaert will also share its experiences of investing in Weihai.

The mayor will be accompanied by leading Weihai business leaders who are eager to set up new partnerships with Belgian companies. The list of delegates and their company profiles can be downloaded via this link http://bit.do/eznjf. 

Weihai City is a coastal city in Shandong province. The city has a diversified economy, with industrial clusters focused on: automotive, medicine, medical devices, electrical and communication equipment, machinery manufacturing, food processing, textiles, and garments. Weihai is also looking to attract investment in new industries, such as: intelligent equipment, marine bio industry, and the Internet of things (IoT).

During this session, the Weihai Government and the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce will sign the renewal of their cooperation agreement. The City of Weihai and the City of Ghent have a sister city agreement.

Programme

15h30 Registration
Welcome by Mr Luc Kupers, Deputy General Manager, City of Ghent
16h00 Introduction by Ms Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director, Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce
16h15 The Weihai industrial and investment environment by the Mayor of Weihai, Mr Zhang Haibo
16h45 Experiences investing in Weihai by Mr Zhu Hongzhen, Customer Excellence Change Agent RR Global, Bekaert
17h15 Signing of the renewal of the cooperation agreement between the Weihai Municipal Bureau of Commerce and the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce
Question and answer session
Networking reception hosted by the City of Ghent

The participant list and company profiles can be downloaded at the following link: http://bit.do/eznjf

Practical Information
When: Wednesday, 7 November 2018 – 15h30
Location: City Hall, Botermarkt 1, Gent – Parking: Vrijdagmarkt
Deadline for subscription: 5 November 2018
Participation fee:
free for FCCC members
for non-members € 45 (excl VAT)

If you are interested in attending this event, please register online by 5 November 2018 via this link

The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce and the VKW Limburg have the pleasure to invite you to the workshop: ‘Negotiating with the Chinese: Cultural Roots & Practical Recommendations’, which will take place on 19 November and starts at 12h00 at VKW Limburg, Kunstlaan 16 3500 Hasselt.

Mr. Bo Ji, Chief Representative Europe & Assistant Dean Global Executive Education of the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, will be the keynote speaker.

This seminar offers guidance to business leaders on how to leverage cultural differences, complexity, uncertainty, and conflicts during the negotiation process with their Chinese partners. It delivers direct impact on a company’s bottom line to support individuals who are doing business with a fast-changing China.

Attendees will gain a comparative understanding of the practical Chinese and Western approaches to negotiation as well as sharpen their own negotiation skills through learning from multiple case studies and real-life contexts. Furthermore, they will identify the cultural roots behind business scenarios, which will provide them with the knowledge to reshape their strategies and tactics. The attending business leaders will also learn to optimize their approach to a win-win value creation through negotiating with the Chinese to achieve a sustainable partnership.

Programme

12u00-12u30 Registration and lunch
12u30-12u35 Opening Remarks by Ms Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director, Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce
12u35-13u20 China vs West: different cultural negotiating models
13u20-14u00 Chinese cultural roots and elements to shape the negotiating skills
14u00-14u15 Break
14u15-15u00 Strategies that lead you to a better negotiation outcome
15u00-15u15 Q&A + group discussion
15u15-16u00 Networking

Experiences of previous participants:

“Remarkable was the enthusiasm and fighting spirit of the speaker. Through the experiences of the lecturer as a teacher, everything was very understandable and clear. There was a lot of interaction in the group through which allowed us to know the experiences of others.”

Another quote from Christian De Cartier, M&A Director of Ontex Group:

“A very interesting workshop that covered some fascinating topics! I would recommend it!”

Peter Cannaerts, Purchasing Manager of Agfa Graphics:

“A very dynamic speaker and a very interesting workshop where the diversity of the group was a big advantage. In addition to the speakers information and tips, we could learn through the experiences of each participant.

Practical Information
Location: Kunstlaan 16, 3500 Hasselt
Price for member: € 180 (excl. VAT)
Price for non-member: € 240 (excl. VAT)

Register following this link

From left to right: Chinese Embassy in Belgium: Mr Guo Jianjun, Counsellor Economic and Commercial; Mr Zhou Zhaoming, Counsellor Economic and Commercial; HE Mr Cao Zhongming; Mr Stefaan Vanhooren, Chairman FCCC, President Agfa-Graphics; Ms Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director FCCC, Mr Johan Verstraete, Board Member FCCC; Mr Johan Verstraete, Vice-President Weaving Machines – Marketing, Sales & Service

The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) organizied a reception with the new Chinese Ambassador in Belgium, H.E. Mr Cao Zhongming on 23 October, 2018 at ING in Brussels.

Mr Stefaan Vanhooren, Chairman, Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce, presented the Ambassador, followed by the keynote speech by H.E. Mr Cao Zhongming, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China in Belgium.

An exchange of views and networking with the new Ambassador concluded the event.