The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce, Ghent University and the Province of East Flanders organized a networking evening with Chinese talent studying at Ghent University  at the Provinciaal Administratief Centrum (PAC) in Ghent. The networking event presented the opportunity to introduce companies to Chinese students. Mr Patrick Meirlaen, Managing Partner at The Future Alliance and Partner at the International Executive Search Federation (IESF) talked about “Strategies for finding an employer in Europe”. Participating companies were presented, followed by networking between students and business leaders. The event was concluded by a networking reception hosted by the Province of East Flanders. The evening was organized with the support of Flanders Investment & Trade.

Last year the Chinese economy expanded by 7.7%, a rate of growth largely seen as a continued ‘slowdown’. How did your company perform by comparison? The results of the 2013 Sino-Belgian Business Survey set the performance of Belgian companies in the right context. When we talk about the growth of Belgian businesses in China are we comparing apples and pears? Equally importantly, how do Belgian businesses feel about the future of their business in China? Moore Stephens Verschelden, together with the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce, Flanders Investment & Trade (FIT) and the Benelux Chamber of Commerce organized a discussion on the results of this year’s survey with a panel of leading business figures and independent experts on 24 April 2013, 17h at KBC Bank in Brussels.

Following an introduction by Mr Philippe Snel, Chairman Bencham Shanghai, a panel discussion was held, moderated by Mr Andries Verschelden, Partner Moore Stephens Verschelden. The panelists included Mr Tim Van den Bossche, Vice President Global Marketing & Strategy, Agfa Graphics; Mr Filip Goris, Regional Manager China & India, Recticel; Mr Wim Buyens, Senior Vice President Projection Division, Barco; and Mr Thomas Baert, Owner & CEO, Chinafloors. A Q&A session and networking reception concluded the event.

Agoria, the EU SME Center, BCECC, FCCC, AWEX, BIE & FIT organized an afternoon seminar on how to mitigate risks in China. At the event, practical advice was offered by the EU SME Center expert and the panelists, and there were opportunities to attend one-on-one consultation sessions to discuss  individual questions with the EU SME Center expert following the seminar. The EU SME Center expert gave a presentation on how to find a suitable business partner and how to manage contract terms and reduce risk. Jan Kriekels, CEO, Jaga NV, Ghislain Gilliot, CEO, Simonis Plastic SA, and Olivier du Roy, ex Country Manager China, Solvay, joined the panel discussion, which was moderated by Professor Johan Erauw of Ugent University. The panel discussion was followed by a networking cocktail and one-on-one consultation sessions.

The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC), the Province and POM West-Flanders, VOKA and UNIZO organized a conference: “Opportunities for Flemish SME in China” on 27 March 2013 in Brugge.

Following a word of welcome by Jean de Bethune, Vice Governor Economy, Province of West-Flanders and an introduction by Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director, Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce, Mrs Yin Linggu, Senior Advisor, Province of West-Flanders in China, presented an interesting overview of opportunities for Flemish companies in the province of Zhejiang. Her speech was followed by testimonials on doing business with China presented by Yves Struyve, CEO, Trislot; Eddy Coppieters, CEO, Primus Group; and Didier Leclercq, Chief Operations Officer, Vitalo Industries.

The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) and The Conference Board organized the conference “Managing China in Transition – Can China’s 5th generation leadership get China on a sustainable path? on 15 March at The Conference Board in Brussels.

Following an introduction by Mr Bert De Graeve, Chairman of the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) and Chief Executive Officer of Bekaert, Mr David Hoffman, Vice President and Managing Director of The Conference Board’s Beijing-based China Center for Economics and Business, gave an interesting presentation on how this transitional period in China will shape the operating environment for multinational corporations.

The conference was moderated by Ethan Cramer-Flood, China Program Specialist of The Conference Board.