From 8 to 12 September 2013, Minister-President of Flanders Kris Peeters headed a mission to China. The mission was composed of three parts: within the political part, the Minister-President met with members of the Chinese Government, including Chinese Vice Premier Liu Yandong and the Minister of Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian. The economic part, in which approximately 45 Flemish entrepreneurs from 30 companies participated, focused on the cities of Chongqing and Chengdu. Approximately 20 academics from the University of Antwerp, VUB, Ghent University and the KU Leuven Association participated in the academic part of the mission, which focused on increasing academic cooperation between Flanders and China.
The cities of Beijing, Chongqing and Chengdu were visited during the mission. The choice of Chongqing and Chengdu was a conscious one, taking advantage of the Chinese Government’s “Western Development” programme. This programme is intended to develop western China, which lags far behind the coastal areas in economic terms . Priority is given to the construction of infrastructure (transport, hydro-electric power stations, energy and telecommunications), attracting foreign direct investments, increased efforts regarding ecological protection (e.g. reforestation), and the promotion of education. The Chinese Government’s Western Development programme provides unique opportunities for Flemish businesses and our Flemish knowledge institutions.
For the economic part of the mission, an event was organised in Beijing to promote, among other things, the export of live horses to China. There are major opportunities for the Flemish horse sector following the export protocol for live horses between Belgium and China, which was signed in April 2013.
Minister-President Peeters witnessed for himself the potential of the Chinese Government’s Western Development programme in Chongqing and Chengdu. The leader of the Government of Flanders also visited the Bekaert plant in Shuangqiao, as well as the industrial area there.
In addition, this mission also extensively focused on the academic relations between Flanders and China. For example, Minister-President Peeters visited various Chinese universities in Beijing, Chongqing and Chengdu, and witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements between Chinese and Flemish universities. He also attended the summer school “Advanced trends in manufacturing organisation”, organised by Ghent University at Southwest Jiaotong University in Chengdu, and the seminar “Future challenges for modern supply chains”, organised by the University of Antwerp and POM Antwerp, in cooperation with Chongqing University.
Furthermore, Minister-President Peeters met with various leaders of the Chinese Government during the political part of the mission, including an exchange of views on the cooperation potential of cleantech with Minister of Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian, and a meeting with Vice Premier Liu Yandong. The Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) and the Flanders Cleantech Association concluded cooperation agreements with two Chinese partners in the margins of these meetings. Meetings with the Mayor and the Governor in Chongqing and Chengdu were also on the agenda.
Within the context of cultural diplomacy, a scene from “Isabella’s Room” was performed by Mrs Viviane De Muynck, leading actress of the Needcompany contemporary theatre troupe, for high-level Chinese guests at the Belgian embassy in Beijing. The troupe has continued to perform from 16 to 28 September at various prestigious locations throughout China.
