Netherlands Minister of Economic Affairs to visit West
China
Mr Henk Kamp, Minister of Economic Affairs of the Netherlands, will travel to the city of
Chongqing and the province of Sichuan, including its capital Chengdu, in the last week of
January (28-30 January). Following his two day program in Beijing earlier that week
Minister Kamp will spend altogether three days in West China. Aim of his visit is to enhance
existing economic with ties Chongqing and Sichuan and explore new opportunities for
cooperation in key sectors.
Programme Chongqing
Minister Kamp will begin the West China programme in Chongqing with a visit to China Automotive
Engineering Research Institute (CAERI). CAERI is one of China's most prominent research institutes in
the automotive sector, as well as a partner for quality testing and certification of imported cars and
components. CAERI is cooperating with its Dutch partner Teesing on the development of dual-fuel
conversion kits. During his visit, the Minister will discuss with CAERI management the scope for
further cooperation between the Dutch and Chongqing automotive sector in the area of research &
development and technological upgrading. Chongqing currently is the number three car manufacturer
in China. Dutch sunroof producer InAlfa is active in Chongqing.
Subsequently, the Minister will visit Haizhuang Windpower Equipment, a major Chinese state-owned
company that produces on- and offshore wind turbines. The Minister intends to discuss with its
management Haizhuang’s internationalisation strategy as well as the extent to which the Netherlands
can play a role in implementation of this strategy. The Minister will elaborate on current Dutch policy
in regard to the expansion of off-shore wind power capacity towards 2020.
The programme continues with a tour to the Liangjiang New Development Zone, where the Minister
will be briefed on possibilities for Dutch companies looking for a foothold in western China to establish
themselves there.
Following the visit to the Liangjiang New Development Zone, Minister Kamp will be received by his
Chongqing government counterpart. He will reaffirm the strong historical as well as modern ties
between Chongqing and the Netherlands, which recently have culminated in the opening of a fourth
Dutch Consulate-General in China in Chongqing. As the main mission of this newly established
Consulate-General is economic diplomacy, the Minister intends to discuss with his Chongqing
counterparts possibilities for further cooperation in various of the Dutch Top Sectors, such as agrofood; high-tech; automotive; transport, logistics & distribution; spatial planning and smart urban
design.
The Minister will conclude his stay in Chongqing by addressing CEOs of Chinese companies with
overseas investment ambitions during a Round Table Meeting organized by the Netherlands Foreign
Investment Agency (NFIA). The Minister will introduce the overall climate for foreign investment in the
Netherlands and will highlight some of the advantages that Netherlands can offer to companies from
Chongqing that contemplate establishing themselves in Europe.
Programme Sichuan
After visiting Chongqing, the West China programme will bring Minister Kamp to Chengdu, capital of
neighbouring Sichuan Province. During his visit, Minister Kamp will meet representatives of Dutch
companies that have established themselves in Chengdu or elsewhere in Sichuan province.
The Minister’s will also go to the Philips LED Lighting Campus, which houses an integrated LED
assembly factory as well as a “Lighting Application Center” modeled on “a mini smart city”, exhibiting
the effects of lighting through real-life scenes, from outdoor to indoor.
Furthermore, the Minister will be the key-note speaker at a tourism seminar, organized by the
Netherlands Board for Tourism and Conventions (NBTC). In pace with China’s spectacular economic
growth and its increasingly affluent middle-class, an increasing number of Chinese tourists, including
from Sichuan, find their way to the Netherlands. Since 2006, KLM services a direct flight between
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Chengdu and Amsterdam with multiple flights per week. At the seminar, Minister Kamp will personally
explain why he feels that Holland is definitely worthwhile the visit by Chinese tourists, not only the
dynamic capital of Amsterdam but also other cities and regions beyond.
As in Chongqing, Minister Kamp, during a second Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA) CEO
Round Table, will introduce in Chengdu the Netherlands as an investment destination toward an
audience of CEO’s representing companies from Sichuan.
As an indispensable part of his visit to Sichuan, the Minister will meet with his counterparts from the
provincial and municipal government. Discussions will focus on the investment climate for foreign
companies in Chengdu city and Sichuan province as a whole, in particular activities of Dutch
companies. The Minister also intends, as in Chongqing, to look to the future in terms of intensified
cooperation with Sichuan and Chengdu in sectors such as agro-food; high-tech; automotive; aviation
technology and the creative industries.
Finally, the programme will bring the Minister to the city of Meishan where he will participate in the
festive opening of a new detergent plant by Unilever -- Unilever’s third factory in China. The groundbreaking ceremony for this brand new plant was held in September 2013 and it covers 400 acres of
land, employs 500 staff and boasts an estimated annual output of more than 200,000 tons.
West China
The western part of China is one of the fastest growing regions of the country, still realising doubledigit growth in many localities. This is in part due to the “Go West” policy that the Chinese central
government initiated in the early 2000s, aiming at decreasing the development gap between China’s
coastal regions and the inland provinces. Ever since, the central government has injected large-scale
investments in infrastructure, construction, and industry.
The heart of the West China region comprises Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality. The latter
was given the status of provincial-level city directly under the central government in 1997. Due to its
geographical location at the confluence of two of China’s main transport arteries – the Yangzi and the
Jialing rivers – Chongqing is the most important transport and distribution hub in West China.
Sichuan Province, famous for its native giant panda, is the most important inland province of China in
terms of population and economic activity. Like Chongqing, it has experienced tremendous economic
growth over the past decade and a half. Due to the fertile Sichuan basin, the province has traditionally
been an important farming area. Its capital Chengdu is a centre for IT business and the automotive
industry.
The booming region of West China presents ample business opportunities for Dutch enterprises to tap
into, such as in the areas of agro-food, transport, distribution & logistics, health care & life sciences,
environment and clean technology. Especially the increasingly affluent consumer market in West China
offers substantial potential for Dutch producers of various consumer products.
At the same time, Chinese companies from the western part of the country are increasingly looking for
expansion overseas, towards Europe and beyond.
Mission and Services of the Economic Network in China
The Netherlands government attaches great importance to the bilateral relations with the People’s
Republic of China. China is the ninth largest export destination for Dutch export. At the same time, the
Netherlands ranks as China’s second most important trade partner in the European Union. In terms of
investment, the Netherlands is the third-largest investor in China of the EU. Conversely, within the EU,
China also ranks as the third-largest investor in the Netherlands. All Dutch multinational enterprises
are represented in China.
On par with the importance it attaches to Sino-Dutch bilateral relations, the Netherlands government
has recently established a Consulate-General in Chongqing, making it the fifth diplomatic
representation of the Netherlands in China, in addition to the Netherlands Embassy in Beijing and the
Consulates-General in Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong. Together with the six Netherlands
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Business Support Offices (NBSO) – of which one is located in Chengdu – the Dutch economic network
in China comprises a total of 11 representations.
The main mission of the Consulate-General is economic diplomacy. The consular district of the
Consulate-General in Chongqing covers the provincial-level city of Chongqing (32 mln. inhabitants),
Sichuan Province (80 mln.), and Shaanxi Province (37 mln.). The NBSO in Chengdu, opened in 2013
by Minister Ploumen of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, cooperates closely with the
Consulate-General and takes care of most of the network’s activities in Sichuan.
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