The Netherlands China Association (VNC) is run by volunteers and active members. Everyone contributes unpaid.
The VNC has a board, a committee of recommendations, active committees and maintains offices in The Hague.
The Association is independent and non-commercial.
Anyone can become a member. We currently have about 400 members and the ambition to grow this number to have even more impact. To share more knowledge about China.
Interested? Become a member! Go to our membership page.
Want to become active in your region and you are already a member? Then please contact us. Many thanks.
The board
Monique Knapen
president
Monique studied history and Chinese at Erasmus University and Beijing University. She worked in China for 6 years and helped shape cultural policy for our NL government for many years. She still has a consulting company with several partners: China Connector. She has given herself time off in 2024 to make the VNC even more relevant.
Linkedin
Ed van der Feer
Secretary
Ed Is a lawyer, specializing in planning and project development Europe and Asia. Founder/director of international joint ventures of Saunier Duval and Vaillant China. For the Dutch government and as VP of the WestHolland Foreign Investment Agency and the Municipality of The Hague, provided establishment of Asian and Dutch companies in foreign expansion. Member of the board of the VNC and CCEN (Cultural Chinese Events Netherlands).
Linkedin
Frans Greidanus
Treasurer
Frans was responsible for research in video, audio and data storage from 2000 as a member of the Philips Research board. From 2005 to 2013, he was head of Philips Research Asia and CTO Philips Asia, based in Shanghai. Frans is currently a visiting professor at the School of Management of Zhejiang University in Hangzhou and the School of Business of Jiangnan University in Wuxi.
Linkedin
Aldo Spanjaars
Marketing
Aldo is a political scientist but has made a career in business. Aldo lived in China for 26 years where he co-founded an advertising agency & COO and CEO were companies in 1995. Aldo was also active for two Chinese multinational companies. Also, Aldo is co-author of the book "Dragon Tactics, How Chinese Entrepreneurs Thrive in Uncertainty."
Linkedin
Lan Louwe-Wang
Membership
Lan was born and raised in China. Shortly after completing her technical education, she came to the Netherlands in 1988. Until 1999, she has lived in many countries of the world. She taught Chinese language courses and worked as an interpreter, translator between 2003-2019. In 2023, she became a board member of VNC.
Linkedin
Lianne Baaij
Events
Lianne is a sinologist and works as a certified Chinese interpreter-translator and trainer. She is fluent in Chinese and has extensive knowledge about Chinese culture. She follows China closely.
Lianne founded the China Café, is initiator of the Chinese Circle of the Dutch Society of Interpreters, is a member of the teacher network Levende Talen.
Linkedin
Chi Lau
Regions
Chi, was born in Hong Kong and came to the Netherlands at the age of 6. He grew up in Twente, the Netherlands. Chi studied mechanical engineering at TU Eindhoven.
His career began at DSM in Limburg, via Philips (23 years) and Heraeus (Germany), Chi has been back in the Netherlands since late 2022 and now has his own company focused on energy transition.
Linkedin
Committee of Recommendation
Bernard Bot
president
Former foreign minister and former ambassador for the Netherlands in Brussels and Ankara, among other places
Ate Oostra
Member
Former ambassador to China and Mongolia
Former DG of LNV
Jaap Post
Member
LEI
Advisor agricultural economics research instute. Former chairman VNC 2001 - 2008
Cees van Oosten
Member
Entrepreneur, former deep[ute and former senator, consultant for various Chinese organizations
Bettine Vriesekoop
Member
NTTB national coach, four-time European champion, former NRC journalist
Bob Verbrug
Member
Consultant to both for-profit and non-profit organizations. Liaison for VNC in Curaçao.
Our volunteers
Marlene Tjon
Office assistant/member administration
Marlène's parents are originally from China, and therefore she has always had a connection to China. She also worked for a Taiwanese company as an office manager for 20 years and traveled regularly to their offices in Hong Kong and China. With her administrative background, volunteering at the VNC office, as early as 2011, was the right combination.
Huub Gulickx
Newsletter, website and designer ChinaNU+.
In 2007, Huub went to China for the first time, fascinated by its history and culture. That fascination has remained and has produced valuable friendships, even on the other side of the world. Volunteered at the VNC office since 2012. Now collaborates on the Newsletter and website and is a designer for ChinaNU+.
Hao Su
IT and technical support
Astrid Bouwman
ChinaNU+
Started her career with her own text bureau and worked in various positions at a provincial support function for Surinamese. Then was a.o. board member of the Dutch School in Jakarta,
Indonesia, did a training 'Horticulture' in America and also taught Dutch there. Writing and tinkering with texts is her passion and so Astrid loves working on ChinaNow+ and making the content a true reading pleasure for the reader.
Sanne Morsink
Marketing
Sanne studied China studies, tutored English during a gap year in Taiwan and also backpacked through China for a few months after her studies. In recent years she worked as a project manager and event manager mostly in education, but because she likes to keep learning about China and stay in touch with people who also enjoy it, she has been volunteering with the VNC since 2024.
Yichen Luo
Content Manager
Yichen grew up in China and has gained diverse professional experience in marketing, event coordination, and social media management across multiple countries. These roles have deepened her adaptability and appreciation for cultural diversity and organizational dynamics. After completing the Media Studies graduate program at Maastricht, Yichen’s journey led her to join VNC as a Content Manager volunteer in 2024, where she can help strengthen the connections between China and the Netherlands through cultural initiatives.
