On 24 November 2017, the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce, represented by Ms Gwenn Sonck, and the Qingdao Bureau of Commerce, represented by Mr Xing Lizhi, signed a Cooperation Agreement at the offices of the FCCC in Ghent.

The agreement will strengthen cooperation between both sides and will build a platform to facilitate communication between companies from Qingdao and Flanders. Both sides will share business information, promote trade and investment activities and organise delegations with business leaders.

On the occasion of this visit, the FCCC organized a lunch meeting at which the leader of the Qingdao Bureau of Commerce delivered a speech on the economic and investment environment of Qingdao, while the FCCC gave a better understanding of the advantages of investing in Flanders. Leading companies such as the Tsingtao Brewery Group and Shandong Electronic Power Corporation also participated in this activity.

Qingdao, located in Shandong province is a major seaport of China, aiming to build itself into a hub city of “Belt & Road”, connecting China with Europe and Eastern Asia. Pillar industries in the city include electronics, petrochemicals, fine chemicals, automobiles, machinery, metallurgy, building materials, biopharmaceuticals, textiles and garments, and food and beverage processing.

Several of our members have a major investment or activity in Qingdao, such as Bekaert, Beaulieu and Profit Europe. On the other side, we also have major investors from Qingdao in Belgium, such as Haier and Hisense.

If you are interested to receive more information, send an e-mail to: info@flanders-china.be