The Province of East-Flanders has a longstanding cooperation with China, in particular with the province of Hebei since 1991. This economic as well as scientific cooperation starts from the smart specialization strategy of East Flanders. The main aim is to strenghtening well chosen economic clusters by:

1. Supporting (East) Flemish companies in their search for economic opportunities in China
2. Facilitating East Flemish knowledge centers looking for cooperation in China
3. Promoting (East) Flanders as an ideal investment region for Chinese investments with an added value for the East Flemish ecosystem.

Since 2008 East-Flemish institutions with a China cooperation – namely the Province of East-Flanders, Ghent University , the City of Ghent, North Sea Port and the Flanders Chinese Chamber of Commerce - join forces via the ‘Strategic Partnerschip China-East Flanders’

This partnership resulted in the ‘East-Flanders Office’ in Beijing, which represents the Province of East-Flanders and Ghent University on a daily basis in China. It is the main point of contact for (East) Flemish companies interested in doing business in China and Chinese companies willing to invest in (East-)Flanders.