Chamber News - Roadshow in the Benelux, New Board Elected
Press Release: May 29 – June 1 BenCham Roadshow in the Benelux
From May 29 to June 1, the Benelux Chamber of Commerce, Chapter Beijing organized a roadshow in the Benelux with the mission to strengthen our partner network. On behalf of the BenCham, Frederic Derbaudrenghien, Vice-President of the BenCham Board of Directors and Brecht Timmermans, Deputy General Manager were present.
May 29 - Meeting with Province of Antwerp, Belgian Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Benelux Union
The day started with a trip to Antwerp for a meeting with Ms. Alice Cooman, Advisor International Relations at the Province of Antwerp. Alice has extensive experience in China as she was also the Chief Representative for the Province of Antwerp in Beijing. During an open conversation, new ideas were shared on possibilities to cooperate, as well as importantindustries and sectors were discussed including the diamond, agriculture, creative industry, care industry, cleantech and the importance of the harbor of Antwerp.
Following the trip to Antwerp, we sat down with Mr Bernard Dewit, Chairman of the Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce. During the meeting, the partnership agreement that was signed back in 2015 and cooperation between our two organizations was discussed. Both the BenCham and BCECC are looking to organize more activities together and mutually promote each other.
In the afternoon, in cooperation with the Secretariat General of the Benelux Union and BCECC, the BenCham organized an important stakeholder event. What are the consequences for Benelux entrepreneurs with a rapidly changing Chinese economy? This was the main question discussed by around 50 participants from a business, government and university world.
The participants were officially welcomed by the Secretary General of the Benelux, Mr. Thomas Antoine, who emphasized on the open, trade-oriented nature of the Benelux countries and the importance of a visible Benelux. After the BenCham, BCECC and governments were introduced, as well as the Benelux Internal Market, the Sino-Benelux Business Survey 2017 was presented: an annual survey, which can serve as a barometer for the entrepreneurial confidence of Benelux entrepreneurs in the development of the Chinese market.
May 30 - China Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce
The trip continued with a visit to Luxembourg. The morning sessions started with meeting Mr. Dirk Dewitte, President & Executive Director at the China Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce (ChinaLux), Sandy Wong, Operations Manager at ChinaLux, and Sophie Smith, Project Manager at ChinaLux. After learning about the rapid growth of ChinaLux in the past years, the main topic of the conversation was to establish both short-term and long-term goals on how the BenCham and ChinaLux can establish the bridge between China & Luxembourg. An exciting project that will be further developed over the summer months.
In the afternoon, a fruitful conversation with the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce took place and we learnt about their priorities, initiatives, as well as how the BenCham could support the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in China.
May 31 – June 1 - BLCCA Academy
On May 31, representatives of more than 20 Belgian Chamber of Commerce abroad gathered in the province of Brabant Walloon, Belgium for the annual meeting also known as the BLCCA Academy organized by the Federation of Belgian Chambers of Commerce. An intensive and varied programme had been developed, including a corporate visit to one of our BenCham members IBA, world leader in proton therapy machines for cancer treatment, a visit to the Louvain-la-Neuve science parks where we learnt more about the plans for the Belgium-China Technology Center and an illustration of the internationalization of the Belgian food industry by the sectoral federation FEVIA.
On June 1, there was a full day meeting with more than 60 participants. They represented 23 bilateral Chambers – from the Netherlands and Germany, through Morocco to Pakistan, and China – as well as the various local Chambers of Commerce in Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Representatives of the regions and the FPS Foreign Affairs was also present.
BenCham Beijing - Newly Elected President and Executive Board
Beijing, 9th June 2017 | During the first board meeting after BenCham Beijing's Annual General Meeting 2017, an executive board of directors was elected to serve the Chamber for a one-year term. Congratulations to the new BenCham Beijing Board!
A full list of Board members:
Pierre Eloy (President), Frederic Derbaudrenghien (Vice President), Koen Naber (Vice President), Grace Shi (Vice President), Hans-Joachim Sommer (Treasurer), Antoine Bruneel (Secretary), Benoit Misonne (Director), Tom Hoogendijk (Director), Anne Hak (Director), Ferry Rebergen (Director), Bob Scheuer (Director), Berend-Jan Kingma (Director), Ernst-Jan van Hurne (Director), Rob van Hemert (Director).
Advisory Board of BenCham Beijing:
Anneleen van Landeghem (Luxembourg Embassy), David Jordens (Belgium Embassy), Elske Smith (Netherlands Embassy)
BenCham, the Benelux Chamber of Commerce in China
BENCHAM is a member driven organization, providing the best business network to facilitate doing business between Benelux and China. Based in China, BENCHAM has three chapters in Beijing, Shanghai and PRD, providing its members with high quality connections and shares knowledge and best practices to help improve their business in different areas in China. In 2005, the Beijing chapter was created with the support from a Board of Directors and an Advisory Board, all highly valued business people in the Benelux community in China.
Press Contact
Liam Jazcii, Marketing Communications Manager
+86 10 5683 5663; liam@bencham.org