From 25 to 31 May, the Province of West Flanders and the Flanders-China Chamber of Commerce (FCCC) joined forces to organize an innovation mission to China, led by Governor Carl Decaluwé. This visit marked 25 years of collaboration between West Flanders and Zhejiang Province.
The mission was moderated by Professor Rudy Aernoudt, who provided expert economic insights throughout the journey.
More than 40 participants from the business and education sectors took part in this eye-opening mission. The trip began in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang Province, known as a hub of innovation and home to several of China’s most prominent unicorns. The trip then continued to Shanghai.
We visited a wide range of pioneering companies, including:
• Unitree Robotics – Developer of advanced quadruped robots used in logistics, public safety, and industry
• Alibaba Group – Global leader in e-commerce, cloud computing, and digital infrastructure
• Dahua Technology – Expert in smart surveillance and security systems
• Robam Appliances – Innovator in smart kitchen automation, showcasing “dark factory” manufacturing
• NIO (Shanghai) – Leading electric vehicle manufacturer and FCCC member, famous for its battery swap technology, enabling a full battery change in under 3 minutes
• Pony.ai – A front-runner in autonomous driving systems, transforming the future of mobility
We also visited many other innovative Chinese companies and had valuable exchanges throughout the journey. This mission offered participants first-hand exposure to China’s fast-paced innovation ecosystem, sparking new ideas, potential partnerships, and inspiration for the future of business and education in Flanders.
The FCCC also organized a seminar on the current business landscape in China, which will be reported in the next newsletter.
VRT's report: “Who is winning the innovation race? If we don't work together with China, we will be wiped out in Europe”
Ms. Veerle De Vos of VRT wrote the following report about the innovation trip, entitled “Who is winning the innovation race? If we don't work together with China, we will be wiped out in Europe”. In recent years, China has focused on innovation. The country wants to transform itself from the world's factory to a leader in new technology and is investing heavily in AI, robotics and electric cars. The province of West-Flanders, led by Governor Carl Decaluwé, went to the city of Hangzhou in eastern China, the new 'Silicon Valley', to witness this transformation with its own eyes.
Day 1: The “dark factory”
"What was your first memory of China?", one of the participants asks me on the first day. I think back to my arrival at Wuhan airport in the first half of the 90s, a kind of hangar where suitcases were thrown roughly to the ground because the only baggage belt was broken. The Hangzhou airport where the participants from West-Flanders arrive has four terminals and is connected to the city center by an elevated highway and a metro line. The first stop on this exclusive innovation trip is a so-called “dark factory”. Robam is a company that makes modern kitchen appliances without the use of a single worker. Dozens of robots are at work in the dark factory while robot carts speed back and forth between the various belts.
Previously, 260 people worked here, now only 10. By no longer switching on the lights, the factory also saves on electricity. “Fascinating”, says Stefaan Lambrecht of the Danis Group, specialized in breeding and slaughtering pigs. “This is something we as entrepreneurs need to know. We also need to move towards more automation, otherwise we will become irrelevant.” But what about employment? “In West-Flanders we have too few employees, not too many", says Lambrecht.
Day 2: Dancing robots, smart glasses and surveillance cameras
Today, two of the six “Hangzhou tigers” are on the program. No exotic animals but progressive startups that have put Hangzhou on the map. One of them is BrainCo, which specializes in neuro-technology, with prostheses and headphones that connect the computer to the brain. The company is located in “China Artificial Intelligence City”, a complex with dozens of startups that specialize in applied artificial intelligence. The second “tiger” of the day is Unitree, known for its two- and four-legged robots, which are already widely used in hospitals and in industry in China. They are slightly more complex specimens than the robots that we regularly encounter in the elevator of the hotel, on their way with room service.
With open mouths, the participants watch how the Unitree robots can climb up and down the stairs and get up again when they are pushed over. “I didn't expect this”, says Kathy Dewitte of High School Vives. “I want to bring more students here as soon as possible for studies and internships. This is so inspiring: the future is made here.” During the Q&A after the demonstration, the Unitree representative cannot deny that the robots can also be trained in a military context or as assistance to the police. “What are your plans for Europe?” asks another participant. “Wait a minute, I'll give you our business card”, the spokesperson says quickly. “Welcome to West Flanders”, adds Governor Decaluwé.
Company number three is Dahua, a specialist in security cameras. Room after room is filled with the latest models, some of which can recognize people up to five kilometers away. Ironically enough, we as a VRT team are not allowed to take any pictures here. “It's a bit scary”, says Gregoire De Veyt of the Lecot Group. “In China, there is one camera for every two inhabitants. That is not where we want or need to go in Europe.”
Day 3: The top university behind Deepseek
The technology boost of recent years is not only the result of the long-term plans of the Chinese government but also of education. Two-thirds of all Chinese college and university students graduate in a STEM field. Research institutions, such as the Hangzhou Innovation Center of Zhejiang University, receive ample subsidies from the government. The founder of AI platform Deepseek was also a student here. “The research we do here into new materials for semiconductors or robots is done in close collaboration with the business community,” says researcher and engineer Jiang Kairui. “We listen to the companies and focus our research on what they need.” She shows us the silicone mixtures that her research revolves around. “In the West, more fundamental research is done, we focus on practice.”
One of the many labs in the innovation center houses a strawberry farm. “This is where we test our sensors and robots,” says Fei Zhengzao. “The idea is to fully automate strawberry cultivation.” He enthusiastically shows us the robot arm he is building and the plastic strawberry dangling in front of it. “One of the most difficult things for a robot is to pick strawberries,” he says, “because they are so fragile.”
Professor Wang has discovered a new way to make graphite, one of the raw materials for semiconductors. The raw material is straw, a waste product. Like many other researchers here, he has started his own start-up. His ambition is great: within five years, he wants to turn it into a large, environmentally friendly and high-tech company, with 1,000 employees.
The provinces of East-Flanders and Antwerp closed their China desks in recent years, but the province of West-Flanders continues to celebrate its close ties with China. “The Chinese are doers,” says Carl Decaluwé during a banquet in the evening with the province of Zhejiang. “In Europe we talk a lot about new concepts, here they implement them. They have that in common with us, West-Flemish. It is in our own interest to continue working with China.”
Day 4: Electric cars and “swap stations”
After Hangzhou, the group heads to Shanghai, home to many electric car manufacturers. Elon Musk also built his largest Tesla factory here. But recently, his Chinese competitor BYD overtook him as the largest EV manufacturer. In 2024, 11 million electric cars were sold in China, half of all cars sold. The visitors from West-Flanders come especially for NIO, a car manufacturer that works with interchangeable batteries. There is a swap station in the car park, where one driver after another drives up. The car drives itself in with the help of an AI assistant and in just three minutes it drives out again with a new battery. The driver can scroll on his mobile phone in the meantime.
“This process extends the life of the battery,” says the NIO spokesperson. “Constantly connecting your car to a fast charger is bad for the battery and therefore also less environmentally friendly.” NIO is already active in Hungary, where it also has a factory for switching stations, and in Germany, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands. But all cars are still made in China. Recent sales figures are disappointing, also because of the European import tariffs. “We certainly want to come to Belgium”, says the spokeswoman, “but we cannot yet put a timeframe on that.”
Day 5: Self-driving robot taxis and robot trucks
The last company on this trip is Pony.ai, a manufacturer of hardware and software for self-driving cars, founded in Boston but mainly active in China. Striking: three of the five founders studied or worked in the U.S. It is something we have heard before: Chinese top students still go to the U.S. or Europe to gain knowledge or work experience and broaden their view of the world. Afterwards they start a company in China.
Pony.ai is already experimenting with self-driving taxis, but is also fully investigating the possibilities of self-driving trucks. In Luxembourg, they recently obtained a license to start a test phase there as well. “Our taxis can now also handle complex traffic situations,” says the spokesperson. “Everything happens automatically. Customers order a taxi via an app and also pay in advance.” “This is really impressive,” says Kester Goh, Founder and CFO of Magnax from Kortrijk, a company that specializes in electric motors. “For me it is clear: we will have to step up our game in Europe if we do not want to become irrelevant. If we do not cooperate with this country, we will simply be swept away.”
Entrepreneur Dirk Vyncke, who has years of experience doing business in Asia, also concurs. “If you can't beat them, join them.” “We lack a clear vision of the future regarding innovation in Europe,” says Louis Jonckheere, CEO of the Winter circus of Ghent and Chairman of Vlerick. “In a democracy as complex as the European one, that is not so obvious. But if you look closely at Ghent or at Flanders, there are a number of sectors in which we are also very strong, just think of our biotech and our chip industry.” “We need to bring the story of our entrepreneurs more into the classrooms, encourage our students to start their own business, and guide them in their first steps. If we don't do that, I give us another ten years before China has overtaken us. And then I fear that the gap will be too big.”
