The Prince Albert Fund is offering the possibility to implement an international business development project for a Belgian company at a substantially reduced cost. In the past couple of years several companies have availed themselves of this opportunity, including Barco, UCB, Sarens, Solvay, Vyncke, Electrawinds, 3E, …

The project must meet several criteria:

• Asian market: Hong Kong / Shanghai / Singapore?
• Sector: Energy (clean tech) / Chemicals / Pharma
• Small to middle-large company (max 5000 employees)

For more information, e-mail info@flanders-china.be

PUBLIC / PRIVATE. An exhibition on the borderline between outside and inside worlds is organized in cooperation with Stieglitz19  and BOZAR at the OCT Art & Design Gallery OCT LOFT, 9009 Shennan Road, Overseas Chinese Town, Shenzhen. This exhibition shows exciting work of influential and actual contemporary photographers from Belgium, who depict daily life as it is in our present era. This unique cooperation between BOZAR and Stieglitz19 aims to show a showcase of contemporary photography in Belgium. These 6 artists (Lara Gasparotto, Bert Danckaert , Thomas Sweertvaegher, Els Vanden Meersch , Marine Dricot and Vincent Delbrouck) will present an installation of their works that reflect on PUBLIC / PRIVATE.

Companies can participate in this exhibition by donating CNY8000, to support the production cost of the exhibition. In return, they will receive a limited edition print by Lara Gasparotto (edition of 50) signed and dated. It is an inkjet print, size A4, on Hannemuhle Photorag paper. The Company logo will be put on all communication regarding this exhibition. Business partners of Belgian companies are welcome at the opening reception at The OCT Museum in Shenzhen. Sponsorship is made directly to the printing company located in Shenzhen, the prints will be produced in Shenzhen.

The Vlasroute.be is the initiative of a cohort of spirited and experienced entrepreneurs who will travel overland from Belgium to China by jeep, 15,000 km from (Vyncke) Harelbeke over the Trans-Caucasus lands and through Central Asia to (Vyncke) Suzhou. The Flax Road from Flanders to China symbolically intertwines with the Silk Road.  Much more than durable goods travel along these paths: ideas, technology and convictions are exchanged between East and West.  The ‘Vlasroute’ is not a trade mission or rally. The purpose is to engage in a convivial dialogue with pacesetters on the spot; and to put the Trans-Caucasus, Central Asia and West China on the knowledge map of enterprising Flanders.

The Flax Road to Silk Road Overland will be travelled in two expeditions of each 5-6 weeks and about 7500 km.
- A first expedition tours from Harelbeke to the Caucasus and Central Asia, from the 11th of May until the 22nd of June. The Flax Road crosses Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, over the Caspian Sea to Stan-lands with iconic Silk Road cities: Turkmenistan (Merv), Uzbekistan (Samarkand, Bukhara) and Kyrgyzstan (Fergana Valley). We cross the border to Almaty (Kazakhstan) where the vehicles will be checked during the summer leave.
- The second expedition resumes on the 8th of September in Almaty (Kazakhstan) and lasts until the 17th of October (Suzhou, China east coast). We travel through Kyrgyzstan onto Kashgar (Xinjiang Autonomic Region) and cross China’s West: the provinces of Gansu, Qinghai, Shaanxi and Sichuan. Xian in Shaanxi, famous for its terracotta army, was the capital of the empire during the prime days of the Silk Road. The western Chengdu-Chongqing Economical Zone is part of the industrial top in China.

Contact: Lutgart Dusar, lutgart.dusar@lscoop.com, tel.+32477 276977 www.vlasroute.be

When entering the Chinese market, one of the key challenges for any foreign company, but especially for small and medium-sized enterprises, is effective marketing. Whereas traditional media – newspapers, magazines, radio and television – are hardly an option, mainly because of the costs involved, ease of access, low costs and high relevance make the booming social media landscape in China the prime playing field for small European companies looking to increase visibility of their brands and products in the country. In a recent webinar by the EU SME Center 83% of participating SMEs stated that marketing is the principal reason for their online engagement in China. An article by the EU SME Center will give some pointers as to how this can be done successfully.

For more information, including the diagnostic kit ‘Are you ready for China?’, visit the Center’s website at www.eusmecentre.org.cn.

In accordance with China’s policy for increasing imports, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) will host the Second China International Import Conference 2013 in the Beijing International Hotel on June 25 and 26, 2013, with support from the Ministry of Commerce; the National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC); China People’s Bank; the Ministry of Agriculture; the General Administration of Customs; the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection & Quarantine (GAQSIC), the State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO), State Food & Drug Administration and some other Ministries, Administrations and Offices of China’s central government as well as CCPIT’s overseas counterparts like the United States-China Business Council (USCBC), the China Britain Business Council (CBBC), etc. It is expected that the conference will attract 1200-1500 participants. Official website of the Conference: http://import.ccpit.org