President Xi Jinping meets King Philippe
Jul-01-2015 By : fcccadmin
Their Majesties King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, accompanied by Mr Didier Reynders, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Mr Pieter de Crem, State Secretary of Foreign Trade in the federal government, Mr Geert Bourgeois, Minister-President of the Government of Flanders, the Minister-Presidents of the Walloon and Brussels governments, and a large business delegation, visited Wuhan, Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou and Shenzhen. In Beijing, King Philippe met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang. The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) was represented by Ms Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director. During the visit dozens of contracts and agreements were signed (see below).
China hopes the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will make a priority of encouraging Belgium’s participation, President Xi Jinping told King Philippe on June 23 in Beijing. China appreciates Belgium’s willingness to participate in infrastructure construction in Asia and welcomes the country to join the unfolding Belt and Road Initiative, Xi added. The China-led AIIB finalized its list of 57 founding member states in April, including many western European countries but not Belgium. Other counties that are interested can still join as ordinary members. Xi made the remarks shortly before he and the King witnessed the signing of 12 cooperation agreements covering areas such as space, customs, science and technology, nuclear fuel and education. He called for both countries to push forward with development of the logistics industry, along with cross-border e-commerce between Europe, China and broader Asia. China supports connectivity between its western region and Antwerp, Xi said, inviting Belgium to back Chinese enterprises to join the investment plan for Europe and participate in the construction of a railway network across the continent. He also highlighted areas for cooperation, including high-end manufacturing, environmental technologies and sustainable development, as China is carrying out its innovation-driven development strategy. King Philippe said his country would use its advantages and act as a bridge by which China can enter Europe. Belgium appreciates China’s Belt and Road Initiative and would like to make an effort to link those plans with the investment plan for Europe, he added, as reported by the China Daily.
Belgium has expressed its willingness to become a member of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
Contracts and agreements signed
By : fcccadmin
During the State Visit to China of Their Majesties King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, several contracts and agreements were signed. The following is a non-exhaustive list.
Actemium and Siemens.
Agoria and Dragon Design Foundation.
Ahlers and Syntrans.
Amos and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp.
Antwerp Management School and Donghua University.
Applitek
AWDC and Gangtai Holding; and AWDC and the Shanghai Diamond Exchange.
Belgische Fruitveiling and Dole China.
Belourthe and Lotus International.
BELSPO and the China National Space Administration.
BOZAR and CAFA.
Brussels Capital Region, Brussels Invest & Export and Shanghai Foreign Investment Development Board.
Cefaly Technology, Coma Science Group and Hangzhou Normal University.
Dragone and the Dalian Wanda Group.
Exmar and ICBC.
General Administration of Customs and Excise and the General Administration of Customs in China.
HRD Antwerp and Tesiro.
Hubei province and the Wallonia region on cooperation in six sectors including life sciences, healthcare, photonics and electronics, iron and steel, construction and environment, agro-food and logistics.
IMEC, SMIC, Huawei Technologies and Qualcomm Global Trading.
Ion Beam Applications (IBA) and Zhuozhou Jiankangqiao Investment Co.
Lapauw and Weishi.
Liege Airport, U-Tour and China Xinhai Travel Service.
Limburg and Guangdong provinces.
Marcolini and EverYi Capital.
Masai Gallery and the Wuhan Science and Technology Museum to exhibit around 70 rare stuffed mammals and birds.
Materialise and Fuwai Hospital.
Orthodyne and Shanghai Huaai Chromatography Analysis Co.
OTN Systems and the China Railway Signal and Communication Corp.
Port of Antwerp and Shanghai Maritime University.
Realco, a biotechnology company specialized in enzyme-based solutions, and Juzing International Technology Investment Belgium.
Reibel and the Changle city government.
Sarens Group and Sinotrans.
SCK-CEN and the China National Nuclear Corp.
Solvay and Vintthai Sinochem International Jiangsu Yangnong Chemicals.
UCL and Huashang University of Science & Technology and another one with Wuhan University on student and staff exchanges.
UCL Shanghai and Shanghai Jiaotong University.
ULB and Hanban, Confucius Institute Headquarters.
VITO and the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, CAS.
VUB and Hanban.
VUB-Brussels Diplomatic Academy and Shanghai University of Business and Economics.
Wallonia Region and the Provincial Government of Henan.
WBI, Fonds de la recherche scientifique and the China Scholarship Council.
Zentech and Hangzhou Zheda Dixun Biological Gene Engineering Co.
FCCC and BNP Paribas Fortis: Breakfast debate at Westin Beijing – 24 June 2015
By : fcccadmin
The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) and BNP Paribas Fortis organized a breakfast debate on June 24, 2015 in the Westin Beijing Hotel during the Royal State Visit. The theme of the breakfast debate was “How strong is China’s economic and financial engine? Business environment outlook for foreign strategic investors”. Minister-President Geert Bourgeois of the Government of Flanders attended the debate and delivered the conclusions.
Following a word of welcome by Mr Max Jadot, CEO of BNP Paribas Fortis, Mr Eric Raynaud, CEO of BNP Paribas Asia Pacific, introduced BNP Paribas in China. Next, Ms Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director of the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) introduced the Chamber. Mr Jurgen F. Conrad, Chief Economist ADB China talked about “Growth and structural reforms in the PRC”. “Renminbi internationalisation: the next step” was introduced by Mr Chi Lo, Senior Economist of BNP Paribas Investment Partners Greater China.
A Q&A session preceded the conclusions of the breakfast debate presented by Mr Geert Bourgeois, Minister-President of the Government of Flanders, and Minister for Foreign Policy and Immovable Heritage.
More than 100 participants attended the breakfast debate.
The State Visit in the press
By : fcccadmin
On June 24, the China Daily reported on the State Visit of Their Majesties King Philippe and Queen Mathilde. It also published a “Belgium Special” section. Below are links to the relevant articles:
- Belgium ‘a bridge’ to EU
- Flanders, China ‘have a lot to offer each other’ (by Minister-President Geert Bourgeois)
- Putting Flanders on the map (by FCCC Chairman Bert De Graeve)
The Flemish press focused on business news.
- Dalian Wanda Chairman Wang Jianlin plans to invest €.5 billion to €billion to build a hotel in a prime location in Brussels. (De Tijd)
- The watch brand Ice-Watch plans to open 10 branded stores and 210 sales points in China after obtaining an official registration certificate in China. (De Tijd)
- VITO and the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth under the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) plan to further expand their cooperation on earth observation. (De Standaard)
- Geely Chairman Li Shufu confirmed that the plant of Volvo Cars in Ghent will remain open for a long period of time. (De Morgen)
- A Chinese high-tech business incubator will be set up in Louvain-La-Neuve. The China Belgium Technology Center (CBTC) will include a hotel, conference center, offices and laboratories. (De Standaard)
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