The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce and the Weihai EU Office in Ghent organized a meeting with a high-level business delegation from Weihai, Shandong Province. This meeting took place on October 17 in Gent.

The delegation of Weihai business leaders was led by Mr Xu Lianxin, Deputy Mayor of the Weihai Municipal Government. The aim of the visit was to introduce the investment environment of Weihai, Shandong province and to meet potential Flemish business leaders to discuss cooperation. Next to that, two important investors in Weihai, such as Bekaert and Beaulieu Technical Textiles, shared their experiences of building a successful plant in Weihai.

The composition of the delegation and a description of the company’s activities can be downloaded here. The delegation members are active in the following sectors: IT, electrical machinery and equipment, electronics, chemicals, textiles, new materials, real estate, automotive, tourism, fisheries, etc…

The City of Weihai and the City of Ghent have a sister city agreement, while the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce and the City of Weihai have a longstanding cooperation agreement.

Following a word of welcome by Mrs Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director FCCC, the Weihai investment environment was introduced by Mr Xu Lianxin, Deputy Mayor of Weihai Municipal Government. Presentations on the experiences of investing in Weihai were given by Mr Stijn Himpe, Vice-President Technology Rubber Reinforcement, Bekaert; and Mr Stefan Claeys, General Manager, Beaulieu Technical Textiles. A Q&A session and business matching with the Chinese delegation followed the presentations. A networking reception concluded the event.