Belgium is set to launch its largest-ever business mission to China aimed at building close economic ties. The mission comes as both Europe and China try to accelerate trade negotiations to hopefully establish a bilateral trade agreement that would benefit both sides.
According to Belgium's ambassador to China, Marc Vinck, the Belgian government is open to working together with China to promote global multilateral free trade. Vinck added that Belgium considers China to be a major player in bringing a possible solution to global social and economic issues.
China and Belgium are currently working on establishing their bilateral investment treaty and the envoy to the Asian superpower is expected to accelerate that process. Vinck stated that Belgium expects a trade agreement to be signed as early as next year.
Belgium hopes that the agreement will produce a much better investment climate, which could potentially result in additional agreements between China and other European nations.
The Belgian ambassador's statements come just days before the country's planned economic mission to China. The economic mission will be led by Princess Astrid and a total of 632 Belgian participants. The delegation, which will include 465 business representatives, will arrive in China on November 17. The visit is considered to be the largest mission to any country in Belgian history.
According to the director-general of the Belgian Foreign Trade Agency, Fabienne L'Hoost, the upcoming mission to China should result in the establishment of dozens of new joint ventures and partnerships. The trade official stated that he expects that there should be more than 60 businesses and agreements that will be signed during the visit. This will include partnerships in key industries such as food and beverage, life sciences, cleantech, and luxury goods.
Belgium is currently China's sixth-largest trading partner in the European Union. Last year, the bilateral trade volume between both nations had reached more than $26 billion. Belgium had also made a substantial investment into China's electronics, pharmaceutical, and chemical sectors last year, estimated to be worth more than $2 billion. Meanwhile, China had also made substantial investments in European countries during the same period.
Vinck had stated that he hopes the upcoming economic mission to China will result in significant growth in bilateral trade volumes in the coming years. The ambassador mentioned that Belgium was proud of its strengthening economic ties with China, which has also been seen by it as a clear sign of its ability to forge new partnerships with overseas nations.
