Strengthen trade ties via MICE activities

Celion Su

Introduction： As the governmental organizations aiming at promoting Chinese-Dutch trade cooperation， the Netherlands Business Support Office and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Beijing co-organized 18 companies to participated in the 3rd Nanjing International Intelligent Agriculture Expo in Nanjing， Jiangsu Province in September 2018. Overseas Exhibitions magazine talks with Richard van Ostende， Chief Representative of Netherlands Business Support Office Nanjing and Henk Stigter， Agricultural Counsellor， Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Beijing on bilateral trade promotion and the success factors of the Dutch exhibition industry.

Steadily growing bilateral trade

According to Richard van Ostende， Chief Representative of Netherlands Business Support Office （NBSO） Nanjing， as a governmental trade promotion organization， NBSO has set up 6 offices in China， namely Chengdu， Nanjing， Wuhan， Qingdao， Jinan， and Dalian. It provides comprehensive assistance for Dutch businesses to develop the Chinese market and has seen considerable progress in this regard in the past years.

Starting in the Netherlands Embassy in Beijing in 2007， van Ostende has been in China for trade-promotion work for nearly 12 years. As far as he can see， cooperation relationships is being formed in different sectors and on different levels， not only between governments， but also between businesses. He points out that for many years， the Chinese economy has been increasing both in volume and in quality， and the economic outward tendency is strengthening； in the meantime， there is growing interest from Dutch companies in the Chinese market， which means multiple opportunities of bilateral cooperation.

Henk Stigter， Agricultural Counsellor of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Beijing， commits to promoting communication and cooperation of Dutch-Chinese organizations especially in the agricultural industry. He shares that in 2014， when Chinese President Xi Jinping was visiting the Netherlands， Xi was very impressed by the smart agriculture in the country， and said that there should be deeper cooperation in this sector. “This is what we are working on currently and indeed， as the total population in the world will be even higher， it makes more sense to develop agriculture in a sustainable way.”

Increasing Dutch participation in conventions and exhibitions activities in China

Both Van Ostende and Stigter are convinced that conferences and exhibitions help people to gain updated understanding of the relevant industry and are effective ways for setting up business links. In recent years， the participation of Dutch exhibitors in trade shows in China has increased continuously. This year， there were 18 Dutch companies participating in the 3rd Nanjing International Intelligent Agriculture Expo， increased from 11 companies from last year. This is just a good example of the ever growing interest of Dutch companies in the Chinese market. More importantly， “From the Dutch side， we not only look for business partners， but we also focus on long-term relationships.” said van Ostende and Stigter.

Apart from organizing Dutch pavilions in trade shows in China in various industries and cities， NBSO and the Dutch Embassy also participate in industry forums as well as organize “side programs” to maximize potential cooperation. For example， they organized a seminar during the 3rd Nanjing International Intelligent Agriculture Expo. An agriculture expert from the Netherlands gave a speech， and a professor from China introduced the agriculture industry in China.“Through such two-way communication， we could share and benefit from each others knowledge and expertise.” Van Ostende and Stigter observed.

Solid trade traditions， strong exhibition industry

The Netherlands has a famous exhibition industry and is home to some of the worldrenown MICE organizers and venues such as Jaarbeurs and RAI Amsterdam. Van Ostende and Stigter believe that a strong trade tradition background and other factors have contributed to such a strong position. Counsellor Stigter told the reporter that some time ago， he visited a green technology expo in Amsterdam， and was surprised by the number of Chinese exhibitors in this expo. He points out that in the Netherlands， the golden triangle of government-businessresearch is very strong， which provides a nourishing ground for the trade show industry.

Van Ostende adds that for many centuries， the Netherlands has been enjoying strong trade traditions. In addition， Dutch person are open and ready to give an honest respond. All these have laid a good foundation for a strong trade environment and a trade show industry. When Chinese exhibitors want to enter local market， NBSO will consider the history and background of the Chinese companies and their specific trade goals， and help them to set a tailormade solutions to enter Dutch market and offer the necessary support.

Both Van Ostende and Stigter firmly believe that with a strong momentum of cooperation that has been lasting for the past years， especially in the agriculture industry， there will be sustainable exchange of knowledge and expertise from both sides， and that the Dutch-Chinese cooperation will continue to grow in the following years.