Eindhoven, 8 October 2026 Is China still a market full of opportunities for Benelux companies? This question brought forty participants together on October 8 at China Café Zuid in Eindhoven. The evening presented a surprisingly positive picture of doing business in China, while at the same time focusing on the
by Heleen Mees Suddenly, Francis Fukuyama, the philosopher who proclaimed the end of history in 1989, is hoisted on the shield. Wasn’t he right, Joost de Vries wondered in Sunday. Sander Schimmelpenninck was more adamant when on Monday morning Fukuyama saw very clearly in The End of History and the
by En Shi de Weijer With my traditional Chinese dress, which is called a qipao in Chinese, I used to go to school proudly. At the time, I thought you could only buy something like that in China. I saw Chinese clothing at most once as part of a carnival
Friday, October 30, 2026 | 13.30–18.00 hrs I Leiden From oracle bone to smartphone: 3000 years of Chinese writing How can a writing system that originated more than 3000 years ago still be alive and kicking today? And what do Chinese characters tell us about China’s history, culture, and identity?
What does ‘corporate responsibility’ actually mean when a European and a Chinese company do business with each other? The regulations on both sides appear to have a surprising number of similarities. But behind similar rules there are sometimes very different interpretations. During the last China Café, Vera Moll and Congrui
Dutch-Chinese collaboration and the opportunities that arise when two very different creative cultures meet. When you visit the Nanjing University of the Arts exhibition at Dutch Design Week, you may find yourself wondering: What makes Chinese design distinctly Chinese? How are today’s designers influenced by China’s long history, culture and
What do the figures say, what does practice say? What does the Benelux Business Survey reveal? How do Benelux companies experience doing business in China? Where are the opportunities, what challenges do they encounter and how do they see the future of their activities in the Chinese market? During the
An interview with Tjibbe van Ellen about Silk Mandarin language school Marilou den Outer Unable to find a suitable language school, he decided to start one himself. In a nutshell, that is the story of entrepreneur Tjibbe van Ellen in Shanghai. In the more than ten years since its establishment,
On Saturday, September 19, VNC’s Annual General Meeting took place in Buren. This year, we were guests at Business School Netherlands (BSN) – a wonderful venue for a productive and constructive gathering. Many thanks to Toine van den Heuvel and Daniëlla van der Groef for their hospitality and excellent organization.
