From communication to connection

Published on 19.03.2015

Impressions of a successful GCI conference

Over 150 participants from government, industry and academia attended the 'China Communication & Connection Conference' in WTC The Hague on Thursday 5 March. Groningen Confucius Institute organized the conference in close cooperation with the Communication University of China, the Municipality of Groningen, the University of Groningen and the Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen.

The conference was the first phase in the new spearhead effort of Groningen Confucius Institute to explore Sino-Dutch business cooperation. Distinguished guests Mr. Chen Xu, Chinese ambassador to the Netherlands, and Mr. Peter den Oudsten, Mayor of Groningen, jointly opened both the conference and the adjoining exhibition on Contemporary Chinese Advertising.

"Open and pragmatic cooperation"

In his keynote speech ambassador Chen Xu applauded the significance of the conference and the exhibition in opening a window on Sino-Dutch cooperation. He felt really at home in the Sino-Dutch setting of the conference. "Just after a cup of coffee I already have a large list of relevant discussion subjects".
Ambassador Chen Xu praised the Dutch for being "innovative, creative, pragmatic and well organized", which as a result "has really made my life in The Netherlands quite easy". Although the Dutch and Chinese differ in many fields, according to the ambassador the attitude of open and pragmatic cooperation does provide a firm base for successful Sino-Dutch cooperation. "We both share a common goal in our search for happiness and prosperity."
Widely expressed concerns that the Chines economy may face a hard landing after years of double-digit growth figures were refuted by the ambassador. He stressed that the Chinese government is not aiming at a revival of the fast growth of the economy. Instead, the focus now is on stabilizing both economic and social development and enhancing quality and stability in both fields.
Ambassador Chen Xu showed his full confidence in the positive development of the Chinese economy, creating a stimulating business climate with great opportunities for cooperation between Dutch companies and the "hard working and peace loving people of China."

Global economic perspective

Mr. Peter den Oudsten, mayor of Groningen, conveyed to the audience his appreciation for the continuous efforts of Groningen Confucius Institute to build a business platform. In concordance with this he announced the preparation of a China Euro business center in the Groningen region. This CEBC would assist Chinese and Dutch companies and NGO's in their quest for cooperation, leading to regional business projects or even research programs with the participating universities Hanze and RUG.

Professor Rien Segers, holding the chair of Asian Business Strategy at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences put the opportunities of Sino-Dutch cooperation in a global economic perspective. He underpinned that in the 21st century China, and in fact the whole of Asia, will become a major player in the world economy. Already a fifth of the world GDP is generated in Asia and this will double in the coming decades at the cost of both the United States and the European Union.
This unprecedented global transition will cause a major shift in international relations. Where the 19th century was characterized by dominance of the British Empire and the 20th century by the leading role of the United States, Segers has no doubt that in the 21st century Asia will be in the lead. Definitely in the economy, and maybe even global Asian political leadership will emerge.

Connect with society

Segers introduced Huawei as a fine example of a Chinese company that has made the transition from an emergent company to a firmly established multinational company, being very competitive with respect to well-known Western communications companies. As such Huawei experiences the common western perception paradox of Chinese emerging multinational corporations of both admiration and fear. Segers: "The important question is of course how competitive the European and Dutch businesses can remain when confronted with these huge sophisticated and hardworking Chinese companies." Although the answer to this question is not straightforward, Segers is convinced that "it can be managed" as long as companies and countries to not protect their markets but are willing to cooperate.

For his part, Wonder Wang, CEO of Huawei Technologies in The Netherlands, showed a remarkable sensitivity for the Western market, stressing the importance of communication: "Before we do business, we have to understand each other". Furthermore, he underpinned the importance of 'localization', to be able to really connect to the Dutch society and to earn the trust of the Dutch consumers and end-users. Wang: "Technology needs wisdom from society, so we want to be part of the local society".

Pressure cooker

After a few more morning plenary sessions and the networking lunch it was time for the 'pressure cooker' afternoon sessions. In two consecutive shifts of four parallel sessions more than 30 speakers from various sectors of Dutch and Chinese business informed and inspired their audience on subjects such as trends and opportunities in leisure & lifestyle and food & agriculture; China's free trade zone policy; E-marketing in China; and 'smart health'.
The conference program was not only tuned to the needs of the Dutch audience seeking information about China. Also the Chinese audience was provided with perspectives on Dutch and European matters, such as opportunities and challenges for Chinese investors and the branding of Chinese companies in the Netherlands.

With the odd exception, all sessions lead to lively discussions and were quite effective in the establishment of Sino-Dutch relations. This lead to a noticeable positive mood among the participants. For instance translator-interpreter Lianne Baaij looked back at a very satisfying conference - and not just because she won the Lucky Draw of an Amsterdam-China round-trip flight ticket with Xiamen Airlines. Baaij: "I really liked the broad scope of the conference, the high quality of the speakers and the very strong Chinese participation."

For Huawei's Wonder Wang the conference was "a great event, creating opportunities to communicate between China. As I said in my lecture it is important to understand each other before we can do business with each other. This kind of event can really bridge the communication gap."

Boosting business development

With this day Groningen Confucius Institute has shown to be a valuable partner in creating an environment for Sino-Dutch business development. It plans to give this a further boost in the China-Euro business conference 2015, to be held Thursday 9 April at the Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen. The focus of this conference will be on business development and business matchmaking. More information can be found at www.hanze.nl/doingbusinesswithchina.
An impression in pictures by Sunny Gardeur:

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