Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Shanghai

Urban regeneration: an area of continuous, mutual inspiration for the Netherlands and China.   Earlier in July the Consulate General organized a seminar together with Shanghai Planning and Nature Resources Bureau and Tongji University on sustainable urban regeneration at the Design Innovation Institute in Hongkou with participation of many Dutch architecture companies represented in Shanghai like MVRDV, INBO, KCAP and UNStudio. It was for this reason that Mr. Li Qian, the Party Secretary of the Hongkou District CPC invited Consul General Marjo Crompvoets to “The Inlet”, to give her a quick glimpse of a key urban regeneration project in Hongkou district.   Our Consul General appreciated the warm reception, the constructive discussion and the tea time with the district leaders in 人间茶话. While enjoying the unique Chinese tea inspired drinks an enjoyable discussion took place on the importance of continued exchanges, particularly on topics such as sustainability, education and young professionals, green building, elderly care, and clean energy. #urbanregeneration #netherlands #china #sustainability

MEET THE TEAM 😊 侬好 Nóng hō! My name is Catherine Ruijter and I have started working as a temporary assistant to the Consul General and the Deputy Consul General at the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Shanghai. I was born in Shanghai and actually, my kindergarten was not far from the Consulate, which makes my morning commute to work especially nostalgic. However, instead of daily naps and playtime, I get to work with a great team on important matters concerning both the Netherlands and China. Before this leap back to my hometown, I studied Psychology at Erasmus University Rotterdam and specialized in Developmental Psychology. While studying, I enjoyed working in hospitality, mainly Asian (for the food). I am glad to be back in Shanghai, where I can visit my grandma and other family on the weekends. Also, I am extremely excited to explore and learn more about the ever so dynamic 魔都. #CGSHA #newmember #shanghai #thenetherlands #NL

Mission completed! ✅   Last weekend, we concluded the mission of the Mayor of Rotterdam and the trade delegation on Green and Smart Shipping. We look back on a tightly packed week in which the delegates made the most of their time in Shanghai, gaining new connections and insights. A brief recap:   Together with the companies from the shipping mission, we look back on a very successful week. The delegates had the chance to meet with relevant companies, shipowners, shipyards, research institutes, as well as Chinese local authorities. Seeing the local industrial landscape in Jiangsu and Shanghai with their own eyes left a strong impression. It provided an exclusive and valuable insight into the innovative maritime industry in China. Furthermore, it helped to gain a better understanding of the business culture in this region. Some remarks of the delegates: ‘’the high level of innovation is visible in China and things move much faster than we imagine’’ as well as ‘’many contacts have been added on WeChat and we will follow-up these leads shortly”.   Meanwhile the Mayor of Rotterdam and his delegation had their focus on a variety of topics, not only sustainable shipping but also sustainable urban development. There were meetings with local government, a seminar, exploring shipyards and visiting a hydrogen energy hub. During the visit to the International Hydrogen Energy Valley in Lingang, the Mayor received an introduction on all the ways hydrogen is being applied in this area. This includes for example hydrogen fuel vehicles but also storage for offshore wind energy.   Additionally, one of the highlights was the large reception to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the sister city relationship between Shanghai and Rotterdam. Bringing together local government, businesses and partners to connect across nations, cities and sectors.    All in all, a successful mission! We thank all those involved and look forward to what the future has to hold. The work continues, as this mission is just one part of our work here abroad. Want to know more about the shipping industry, sustainable urban development or doing business in Shanghai as a Dutch business? Reach out to the Consulate! [email protected] #SolvingGlobalChallengesTogether

Mission update! Over the past decades both Rotterdam and Shanghai have seen rapid developments in their ports and urban landscapes. Therefore, topics like maritime and port cooperation, as well as resilient and sustainable urban development, play an important part in the dialogue between our two cities. We share many experiences and continue to explore possible cooperation.  To underline this, the Mayor of Rotterdam and the Mayor of Shanghai renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last Tuesday. With this MoU, they reiterated their ambitions for cooperating on maritime and urban development, along with a number of different areas such as education and healthcare. The past two days served as a good example of these ambitions. Thursday morning, we organized a seminar on sustainable urban regeneration at the Design Innovation Institute Shanghai. Following this, Rotterdam-based Architecture and Urban Planning Firms took part in a panel dialogue together with Shanghai Planning and Nature Resources Bureau and Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute. Thursday and Friday, the smart and green shipping business delegation visited several Chinese companies, shipyards, and a research institute in Shanghai. Together with the CEO of the Port of Rotterdam, Mr. Boudewijn Siemons. All in order to exchange ideas and knowledge on sustainable and smart solutions for the maritime industry. In person visits like these are great opportunities to gain a first-hand understanding of the scale and operations here in China and to explore business opportunities. #SolvingGlobalChallengesTogether

Incoming visit and trade mission! 🚢 Yesterday, we welcomed the delegates of the NL trade mission on Green and Smart Shipping who will visit Jiangsu and Shanghai this week. After a full program in Jiangsu province during the first half of the week, they will travel to Shanghai this Wednesday. There, they will be joined by a familiar face, the Mayor of Rotterdam, Mr. Aboutaleb, who will lead the trade mission in Shanghai. Together, they will explore opportunities for smart and sustainable solutions in the maritime sector. The upcoming week will offer Dutch entrepreneurs and companies the opportunity to explore possibilities to enter the Chinese market or to reestablish their position in the largest shipping market in the world. We are very happy to welcome back the Mayor of Rotterdam after his last visit to Shanghai in 2019. It is not only the ports that connect our two cities, this visit also marks the 45th anniversary of the Rotterdam-Shanghai sister city relationship. Additionally, the mayor and his delegation will visit a number of sites and have meetings related to sustainable urban development. All in all, we look forward to an energizing and hopefully successful week with much to discuss for businesses and local government partners. As the week progresses, more updates on the activities of the delegation will follow, so stay tuned! The mission is organized by Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO), Rotterdam Partners, Ministerie van Infrastructuur en Waterstaat and the NL Diplomatic Network in China (Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in China, Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Shanghai, NBSO China (Nanjing)) #SolvingGlobalChallengesTogether

The consulate-General was very happy to receive 2 Dutch companies within a week who were traveling to China to drive supply chain transparency. Our Deputy Consul-General Sachi Claringbould and Economic Affairs colleagues Dirk Witteveen and Lydia Huifang J. hosted Sunrock’s ESG/procurement team Manuella Bridgette Appiah, Louis Hericher, Dirk McLaughlin and Sunrock’s EPC partner IZEN, Eric Dijk at the consulate. As one of the largest developers of solar roofs in the Netherlands, Sunrock is one of the signatories of Renewable Energy | IRBC Agreements (imvoconvenanten.nl) which is a broad coalition of solar and wind energy companies, industry associations, the Dutch government, knowledge institutions, NGOs and trade unions jointly committed themselves to making international value chains more sustainable. Aside from visiting SNEC PV Power Expo in Shanghai, Sunrock is here to gain visibility into their supply chain.  EU’s Corporate Sustainability of Due Diligence Directive which is set to usher a new era of supply chain transparency was certainly on the agenda of the meeting. The consulate has been working on raising awareness of the mandatory supply chain due diligence and is ready to support Dutch business community’s preparation for the EU regulation. We are looking forward to meeting more Dutch companies like Sunrock who prioritizes corporate accountability! #CSDDD #ResponsibleBusinessConduct #IMVOCovenant #SupplyChainDueDiligence 

Welcome back to Transport Logistic China! 🚛 ✈ After a number of years of absence due to the pandemic, this week Transport Logistic China was organized again in Shanghai. This is the leading trade fair for logistics, mobility, IT and supply chain management in Asia. We are delighted that Transport Logistic China is back on track and making an impressive comeback. Deputy Head of the Economic Department Sybrich Zwiers and Senior Policy Officer Infrastructure & Water Management Cathy Xu visited the fair to catch up on the latest trends and developments and meet some of the NL companies present. In the morning they attended the opening ceremony of the fair and in the afternoon it was time to meet the exhibitors. They were happy to meet some of the NL companies that were present at the fair and hear more about their business. It was very insightful to hear how they experience doing business in China and to learn about their future opportunities but also challenges. In some cases, follow-up appointments were made immediately. A big thanks to Royal Den Hartogh Logistics, Pieter den Hartogh and Robin Gao, SkyTeam SkyTeam Cargo John Engelaan and Karen Meijer, Euro Cargo Aviation, Hubert van der Laaken, Take Off Aviation ,Ali Guenaoui, Curfs Logistics BV Germaine Curfs, Stan Bormans, Ruben Bormans, Broekman Logistics Rutger Bonsel and Martijn Tasma for receiving us and the interesting conversations.   Is your business also interested in the Chinese Transport and Logistics sector or do you want to know more about this fair? Feel free to reach out via [email protected] #transportlogistic #netherlands #china  

GLOBAL OFFSHORE WIND SUMMIT This year’s Global Offshore Wind Summit took place in the city of Ningbo in Zhejiang! Bringing together more than 1000 visitors from over 15 countries, this summit is one of the largest and most influential offshore wind gatherings outside Europe.   Our Deputy Consul General Sachi Claringbould delivered one of the opening speeches whereby she set out the strong Dutch capabilities and innovations in the offshore energy domain. Alongside that she emphasised the importance of international cooperation, an open and fair business environment, and experience sharing in the development of the global energy transition.   The conference took place concurrently with the Dutch offshore energy mission to China and part of the delegation opted to visit the Global Offshore Wind Summit too. It was therefore great to see the Netherlands represented well at this summit with the presence of Brunel, DMEC (Dutch Marine Energy Centre), IQIP® and Ooms Producten BV - Sealoflex.   Sander des Tombe, the Dutch Marine Energy Ambassador of DMEC also delivered a presentation of the Dutch landscape and cooperation opportunities when it comes to offshore solar and other offshore renewable innovations.   All in all our network can look back on a very productive week of Sino-Dutch offshore renewable engagement and we hope that this leads to further innovation and cooperation! #RenewableEnergy #OffshoreWind #SinoDutchCooperation #Innovation #SustainableFuture  

*Call for the attention of Benelux companies: 2024 Sino Benelux Business Survey* We're thrilled to announce the launch of the 2024 Sino Benelux Business Survey. Please share your insights on the Chinese market and your perspective on the key drivers—both positive and negative—over the past year, as well as emerging trends and expectations for the year ahead. If your business is based in Belgium, Luxembourg, or the Netherlands, we want to hear from you. This survey is organized by the @Benelux Chamber of Commerce in China in collaboration with the official diplomatic and trade representations of the Benelux in China and supported by MSA . Your insights are highly valued, so please take a moment to complete the brief survey, which will only require 10 minutes of your time and will remain completely confidential. Access the survey by scanning the QR code on the flyer or clicking the link. https://lnkd.in/gWx-eikk Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in China Consulate General of the Netherlands in Guangzhou #Benelux #Bencham #BusienssSurvey

Do you know the portion of household wastes single-use diapers comprise in the Netherlands? It’s between 5 to 8 percent! Our consulate’s Responsible Business Conduct team including our Deputy Consul-General Sachi Claringbould and Economic Affairs colleague Lydia Huifang J. met with Billie Wonder, the reusable diapers using water-resistant (PUL) and absorbent fabrics (a combination of hemp and organic cotton). Currently, Billie Wonder concentrates on the domestic market in the Netherlands.   To deliver a top-quality product at a fair and reasonable cost while minimizing their environmental impact, after investigation, Billie Wonder chose China - the world's largest producer of hemp and hemp fibre - to place their supply chain.   Supply chain transparency allows businesses and consumers to understand the journey of products from source to consumer and any environmental impacts that occur along the chain. Though achieving complete transparency in supply chains could be challenging, it is highly encouraging to see Billie Wonder on a China travel to map their supply chain. Transparency starts with understanding every part and player! #RBC #supplychain #sustainability #netherlands