The Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) organized a webinar with the future Ambassador and Consuls-General of Belgium in China on 7 July.

This event is an excellent opportunity to introduce your companies’ activities in Belgium and China to the future Ambassador and Consuls-General.

Ms. Gwenn Sonck, Executive Director, Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce, introduced the speakers: Mr. Jan Hoogmartens, future Ambassador of Belgium in China, Mr. Bruno Jans, future Consul-General of Belgium in Shanghai and Mr. Luc Truyens, future Consul-General of Belgium in Guangzhou.

Ms Sonck congratulated Ambassador Hoogmartens and Consuls-General Jans and Truyens with their new challenging posts in China. In these unusual times the first challenge will actually be to arrive in China, and this is also for many of us an open question this year. Ambassador Hoogmartens will describe the economic situation in China and the economic relations between our two countries. Next, the Consuls-General will introduce themselves and explain what you can expect from them.

Ambassador Hoogmartens is currently Ambassador at Coreper-I, which is the Committee of the Permanent Representatives of the governments of the Members States to the European Union. He is a Deputy Representative of Belgium with the EU. From 2014 to 2016 he was the Advisor of the private office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Development Cooperation, Digital Agenda, Telecoms and Postal Services. Between 2013 and 2014 he was already in charge of China as the China Desk Manager at the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prior to that he was Justice and Home Affairs Coordinator at the Permanent Representation of Belgium with the EU. Between 2007 and 2011 he was the Head of the Economic Section at the Embassy in Tokyo and before that he was in Brussels as the Deputy Chief of Staff and Advisor at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He started his carrier as Chief of Staff of the private office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior. Mr Hoogmartens has a Master in Law from the University of Hong Kong and also holds a Master in Law from KU Leuven and a Master in Germanic Languages. He was also a visiting Professor at different universities in China.

Mr Hoogmartens started by saying it was unfortunate to be getting used to speaking to a camera and not seeing the audience. My relationship with China goes back already quite some time. In retrospect I can only conclude that I enjoyed tremendously my time as a student, a researcher, a diplomat and tourist in China. The country is rich in historical and cultural traditions and its breathtaking economic progress over the last four decades has made a lasting impression on me. On a personal level I am extremely happy to take up my next posting in Beijing, and am looking forward to meeting old friends there and make new acquaintances.

It is very sad to note that Covid-19 has transformed the world so dramatically in the course of six months only 12 years after what at that time was the biggest financial crisis since the 1930s. Again we are experiencing a global recession with most probably bigger ramifications. We should all be aware of the potential dangers which we have also learned from the previous crises. The 2008 financial crisis already led to a lot of public anger and gave rise to the perception of a rigged global capitalist system oriented against some groups in society. This probably also played a role in the Brexit referendum of 2016. The overall attack on globalization has unfortunately and inevitably shifted the U.S. and EU’s trade policies. Covid-19 definitely has the potential of accelerating and deepening this process further. The integration of supply chains was already declining before this pandemic but we see that policies are now moving even further in the direction of decoupling. According to the World Bank, the IMF and OECD, the impact of this crisis is devastating across the world. Of course, this crisis doesn’t hit all countries equally hard and this is also true for businesses. It all depends on the skills, activities and resilience, but the main message is that this crisis strikes in an unequal way and tensions may rise, leading to even more disgruntled citizens. The only thing which can prevent further harm is a breakthrough in the search for an effective global response in the form of a vaccine or cure, for which international cooperation is very important. For a country with an open economy and a strong multinational tradition such as Belgium it will be extremely important to monitor the response to this crisis in the international environment.

Despite the very bleak circumstances due to this pandemic, we should not worry too much about our Sino-Belgian relationship, celebrated recently with a beautiful family of pandas in Pairi Daiza and a very successful Belgian economic mission in November 2019, which will also serve as an excellent basis for future cooperation. Belgian and Chinese enterprises have invested in each other’s economy for the long term and they will remain committed. Many of our Belgian enterprises were even pioneers in China when its reform policies began 40 years ago. We have to make sure that market conditions remain bright to promote exports and investments. We will need each other also to recover from this economic crisis. I believe Belgium will remain an interesting partner in competitive sectors such as environmental technologies, healthcare, logistics and distribution. I soon hope to confirm the arrival of a federal attaché in charge of the safety of the food supply chain to join my staff in Beijing. The Chinese cuisine has many delicacies, but there are also some Belgian gastronomical gems to be discovered. From the F&B market new inspiration can be drawn.

Our people-to-people contacts have provided us with strong bilateral links. The many twinnings between cities and provinces are perfect examples of this. The Chamber also plays an important role in cultivating these relations. I hope the sanitary conditions will soon be right again for travel between our countries. It is hard to find a flight to Beijing, but most important is that the number of cases go down and the epidemiological numbers are good, and travel can resume at its normal level. We are working on that together with our neighboring countries and coordinate our efforts at the European level. Not only tourism, but also business relations and family reunions have suffered in recent months.

The year 2020 may in part have unfortunately been lost to the Covid-19 pandemic, but we should allow ourselves to look beyond that and reach out to the near future in 2021, when we hope to have more reason for optimism. and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of our Sino-Belgian diplomatic relations. I hope to have an eventful birthday party to cement our ties further. Together with the Chamber we will continue making China and Belgium attractive partners to each other.

Mr Bruno Jans, from September onwards Consul-General in Shanghai, explained that his jurisdiction includes three provinces: Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, and the municipality of Shanghai. He is currently based in Brussels as Director bilateral relations with Belgium’s neighboring countries. Mr Jans has also been Consul General in Jerusalem and has experience in the United States, Russia, the Middle East and some other spots in Europe. Before joining the Ministry, he was involved in the private sector for some time. The role of the Consul General in Shanghai is mainly focussed on economic diplomacy in coordination with our partners from the regions, but also the provinces and cities in Belgium. Mr Jans explained that he sees his role a bringing as much added value as possible in the economic, academic, cultural, and scientific fields and also in sports. We will assist all companies who need our help. The promotion of formal and informal networks is very important. Also worth mentioning are activities in the fields of regional or provincial diplomacy. The Consulate-General will be at the service of all companies with special focus on logistics, e-commerce, ports, the diamond sector, health and life sciences, food and others.

Mr Luc Truyens, future Consul-General in Guangzhou, studied history and economics, and started working as an Economist in Cologne, and afterwards joined the Belgian Embassies in Vienna and Kiev. Mr Truyens also worked for the Belgian Representation to the EU and dealt with economic issues in South-Asia at the Foreign Ministry. He has also been Ambassador in Azerbaijan and subsequently dealt with Middle-Eastern issues at the Ministry. Next, Mr Truyens talked about his future work in Guangzhou. The regions play a big role but there is also a task for central diplomats. For somebody who is going to a highly technological area, it is important to follow the economic evolution in that area and to see how it is linked to investment. There might be a lack of investment because of a lack of confidence in the economy. The periphery is becoming more important, such as second-tier cities. Branding Belgium is also important, so that Belgium has a good name abroad. We have to look at our strengths and sell them.

During the Q&A session, Ambassador Hoogmartens said that concerning travel too China he could not yet give specific answers and epidemiology and reciprocity should be taken into account. We are looking what we can do in the field of charter flights, but we need to be realistic, we are not Germany, we can only work together.

The common part of the webinar was followed by individual sessions with the speakers as requested by companies.