News Archive
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June 24 , Dutch business support to launch a
Netherlands Business Support Office on dairy
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June 16-25, Dutch Dairy Trade mission visits
Northern Dairy Belt of China
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June 2-10, Keukenhof’s management board visits China!Keukenhof, Netherlands’ famous spring garden
with more than 7 million bulbs planted each year,
is famous all over the world. Also in China! The
management board of Keukenhof, under the direction
of President Walter Jansen, met several Chinese
discussion partners who visited the Keukenhof
in Lisse before. The aim of the visit to China
was triple: to get insight in the possibilities
of attracting more Chinese visitors to Keukenhof,
see the state of the art of the Chinese floricultural
sector and look for possible cooperation with
other parks. The take-off of their trip was in
Beijing, where they were received by the agricultural
attaché, Ms. Gabrielle Nuytens-Vaarkamp.
Besides a general introduction on agriculture
in China and the importance of green in Chinese
cities and countryside, the Lia Tai flower market
and Ritan Park, an traditional park in Beijing,
were visited. In Shenyang the board was welcomed
by NBSO Shenyang and the Foreign Affairs Office
of Shenyang municipality hosted the visitors.
Shenyang was the initiator of the 2006 International
Horticultural Expo and the group visited the park.
After Shenyang, Mr. Jansen flew together with
the other delegation members, Mr. Pennings, De
Mol, Moreu and director Mr. Piet de Vries, to
Kunming. There they visited the premises of the
1999 World Horticultural Exposition Garden, nowadays
an important tourist attraction in Yunnan province.
NBSO Kunming also guided the group in the early
morning to the Yunnan Flower Market, an important
wholesale market that supplies flowers to whole
China. In Chengdu, Mr. and Mrs. Hageman, accompanied
the group to Stone Elephant Lake, an important
flower garden where visitors can admire tulips,
lilies and other world famous bulb varieties.
At the end of the trip the delegation was welcomed
by Mr. Van Duijn, the agricultural counsellor
and Nick Hong, the technical assistant to the
LNV-office, in Shanghai. The board visited Shanghai’s
Flower Port and the Tulip Park, which names itself
the Keukenhof of Shanghai. The board discussed
their gained experiences with Henk van Duijn during
their stay in one of the most dynamic cities of
China. In Beijing they were already tipped by
the management of Ritan Park: if you really want
to attract Chinese tourists, promote your garden
as The Famous Tulip Garden. Only few people are
attracted by the name Keukenhof but when you speak
of the Tulip Garden: everybody knows where you
are talking about! |
May 22-25 Minister Veerman addresses speeches on construction of a new countryside to China Economic SummitOne of the main topics in the 11th Five Year
Plan approved by the national people’s congress
of the People’s Republic of China is the
construction of a new harmonious countryside.
The Netherlands has gained a lot of experiences
in this field. Reason why Minister Veerman has
been invited by the organizing committee of the
China Economic Summit to address a speech in Beijing
on May 23 and 24. download
speech May 24 Minister Veerman.pdf |
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May 24 Official launch of first international MPS flower certification project in ChinaOn Wednesday May 24th, Mdm Jiang Zehui, chairman
of the China Flower Association, Mr. Sun Dawei,
chief administrator of China National Certification
and Accreditation Authority (CNCA), Mr. Theo de
Groot, director of Stichting MPS and Minister
Veerman launched the first flower certification
project with Dutch international standards. |
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April 30, Opening of the Dutch Garden in Shenyang’s International Horticultural ExpoMr. Chris Kalden, Secretary General of the Ministry
of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and vice
Mayor Li Baoquan officially opened the Dutch Garden.
This garden is the Expo’s most important
international exhibit and is a co-production of
the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality,
NBSO Shenyang/EVD, the company Beumer Agri-Technology,
the International Bulb Centre (IBC) and other
Dutch companies like Akzo Nobel. After the official
opening ceremony Mr. Kalden and Mr. Li visited
the garden and enjoyed the view. |
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April 29, EU seminar on breeder’s rights in ShenyangFlower Council Holland, with the support of the
European Union, organised in close cooperation
with the NBSO Shenyang and the China office of
the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality,
a successful EU seminar during the so called European
week of Shenyang’s Expo. The seminar, titled
‘innovative planting material from the EU:
for professionals, from professionals’,
was well attended by interested public from Chinese
provincial and local authorities, producers, traders
and press. Mr. Chris Kalden, Secretary General
of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food
Quality and the vice mayor of Shenyang opened
the seminar. Afterwards, Mr. Doeke Faber, president
of the International Association of Horticultural
Producers, Mr. Bart Kiewit, president of the European
Community Plant Variety Office, Mr. John van Ruiten,
director of Naktuinbouw, Netherlands Inspection
Service for Horticulture, Mr. Jos Eijking of the
International Flower Bulb Centre and Mr. Rokus
Hassefras of Flower Council Holland addressed
the public. During a panel discussion the public
could exchange their views with the European experts
and Mrs. Jenniskens of the Ministry of Agriculture,
Nature and Food Quality closed the meeting. Afterwards
the participants continued their discussions during
the cocktail party. |
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April 26 – May 2
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April 22-May 2, Dutch Floricultural Trade Mission visits Shanghai, Beijing and ShenyangHeaded by Mrs. Jenniskens of the Ministry of
Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, 12 Dutch
companies and institutions active in the floricultural
sector visited China. This trade mission China
2006 was the follow up of the successful 2005
mission last autumn. This time the Dutch companies
took the opportunity to visit two well advanced
production and consumer areas, Shanghai and Beijing,
and a production area in development, Liaoning
province with the main focus on Shenyang, the
city of the International Horticultural Expo 2006.
In all the cities the so called Holland Days were
organised. During the Holland Day Dutch companies
present themselves to the Chinese public and speak
with potential business partners during several
rounds of match making. Through the fact that
the mission consisted of companies and institutions
related to different aspects of the floricultural
sector (e.g. flower bulbs, roses, seeds and young
plants, im/export nurseries, substrates, auction
systems, certification, consultancy and applied
research) the delegation could present an overall
concept to the public. On arrival the trade mission
was informed about the latest economic and floricultural
developments in China by Mr. Jan van Weijen, economic
counsellor of the CG Shanghai and Ms. Gabrielle
Nuytens-Vaarkamp, agricultural attaché
of the Embassy’s office of the Ministry
of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. Later
on the delegation was welcomed by Consul General
Mr. Jan Peter Wever, who hosted an agribusiness
drink. In Beijing the mission visited a flower
market and two companies active in the production
of anthurium, trees, shrubs and orchids. The Holland
Day in Beijing was opened by Mr. Chris Kalden,
Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture,
Nature and Food Quality, Mr. Cheng Fang, vice-administrator
of CNCA and Mr. Wang Dianfu, Secretary General
of China Flower Association. Special guests of
the trade lunch, hosted by Mr. Kalden, were vice
minister Niu Dun of the P.R. China Ministry of
Agriculture and Mr. Dirk Jan van de Berg, Netherlands’
Ambassador to China. |
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April 21, Opening Training Centre Zhangjiajie (Hunan province)Mrs. Marie-Josée Jenniskens of the Ministry
of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and responsible
for the 4th Sino-Dutch Demonstration and Training
Project officially brought into use the newly
built training centre in Zhangjiajie. On June
4, 2005 Minister Cees Veerman gave the starting
shot for the construction and after a successful
building process the training centre is ready
for use. Together with the high officials of the
Hunan Agricultural Bureau and Zhangjiajie city,
and the Agricultural Attaché Gabrielle
Nuytens-Vaarkamp, Mrs. Jenniskens was informed
about the progress made in this Sino-Dutch cooperation
project. During a tour Mrs. Jenniskens visited
the demonstration orchard and members of one of
the two newly established farmers’ cooperatives.
During the yearly meeting of the steering group
all the involved parties from Chinese and Dutch
side emphasized the importance of the project
and expressed their wish that the project has
a sustainable impact in the region. |
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April 12, Agribusiness Meeting BeijingThe China office of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality organized a successful agribusiness meeting at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Due to the fact that at the same time the Hortiflorexpo, the Ciopora conference on Breeder’s Rights and Agri China 2005 took place in Beijing, a lot of Dutch agribusiness companies were present. Mr. Aad van Elsen, the director of Plantum NL, the Dutch association for breeding, production and trade of seeds and young plants, informed the audience on the progress made in the field of the protection of breeder’s rights and the co-operation with China. More than 60 people from the floricultural, potato production and harvesting, mechanisation and other agricultural branches, experienced and less experienced in doing business in China, took the opportunity of this event to exchange their views and experiences. |
April 11, IBC, 2nd Ms Lilly election in ChinaThe Dutch Flowerbulb Promotion Centre (IBC) in
China and Tom.com organized the 2nd Ms Lilly contest
via the internet. All amateurs of lilies had the
opportunity to vote on one of the selected Chinese
celebrities to become Ms. Lilly 2006. Over 60
different journalists and camera crews of trendy
Chinese magazines, news and lifestyle channels
participated in the event. The IBC aimed to promote
the multipurpose use of the Lilly. A growing of
Chinese people are buying the Lilly as a gift
or as decoration at home. |
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April 11, Opening 8th Hortiflorexpo ChinaOn 11th April 2006, the 8th Hortiflorexpo China was opened in Beijing Exhibition Centre. The event was organized by China Flower Association; and it will last 4 days. Agricultural Counsellor and Attaché of the Netherlands Embassy, namely Mr. Henk van Duijn and Ms. Gabrielle Nuytens, were invited as VIP to be present in the opening ceremony. They together visited the exhibitions afterwards, especially the Dutch exhibitors, such as Anthura, Moerheim, Siere Handel, Ponkon Chrysal, etc. In total, the exhibition area in this year is around 15,000 m².
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March 3-12, HONG KONG FLOWER SHOW 2006The 2006 Hong Kong Flower Show was held from
3 March to 12 March at the As a renowned flower country the Netherlands
has again participated the The Dutch tulip display has won the Bronze Award
for Outstanding Exhibit |
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February 16 Farewell of Mr. Jochum Haakma, Consul General of the Netherlands in ShanghaiAfter three and a half years of public diplomacy in Shanghai “Mister Hélan” said farewell to all of us in the vibrant city. “The engine of Chinese economical growth and prosperity” as Mr. Haakma always said in one of his thousands charming presentation. The agricultural office was present during the farewell party and thanked Mr. Haakma and his wife for their never ending cooperative support to Dutch agricultural official and trade delegation to Shanghai. The opening of the EU Herd of Cows in the afternoon was the symbolic present for all these efforts. Mr. Haakma will be the new director of the Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (CBIN) in The Hague. |
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February 16 Opening of EU herd of Cows in Shanghai sponsored by Rabobank ShanghaiAfter 6 weeks in Beijing the EU herd of Cows
continued the China tour, heading south for some
new grassy meadows in the blousy spring sun. The
herd found the Fuxin Park in Shanghai a suitable
place to stay for some weeks and will head for
the Shanghai Tulip Park end of March. The Consul
General Mr. Haakma, the deputy chairman of the
Agricultural Commission of Shanghai Ms. Shen and
the director of Rabobank Shanghai, Mr. Wang welcomed
the 26 ladies during the opening ceremony on February
16th. In the presence of a large number of EU
consulates, Dutch business people, the ambassador
of the Royal Netherlands Mr. van den Berg and
journalist Mr. van Duijn, the agricultural counselor
in Beijing and representative of the owner elaborated
on the background of the cows, why cows, why 26
and why painted like they are. The Ministry of
Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality of the Netherlands
bought the cows in 2004 in Prague where they have
been part of a 200 cows counting public charity
manifestation in the city. The group of 26 cows
representing the European Union with its 25 member
states and 1 European Commission is now traveling
through China and Asia as part of the bilateral
cooperation of the Netherlands with this region.
The idea was launched by the Minister of Agriculture,
as owner of the cows during his visit to China
last June. |
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February 6 Interesting kick off seminar for meat trade mission in September 23-30The Department of Industry and Trade of the Ministry
of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality and the
Agricultural Office in Beijing organized a kick
off seminar on the development of animal husbandry
and meat processing in China, in Ermelo the Netherlands.
During the seminar the agricultural counselor
elaborated the developments of Chins as a whole
and the developments in animal husbandry in particular.
The Chinese national authority has decided that
China wants to be self supportive in protein production
in the near future. The consumption of meat, especially
pork meat is growing fast due to improved household
spending in the last decade. China produces more
than half of the world pork a year. More than
600 million pigs are slaughter every year.
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January 16-17 Successful International AI pledging conference in BeijingWith a pledge of 1.9 billion US$ the International
pledging conference on human and avian influenza
in Beijing was very successful. Even if just 1
billion US$ are grants and 900.000 million US$
are loans of World Bank and Asian Development
Bank. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
organized the conference in close cooperation
with EU commission and the World Bank. The main
reasons of the conference were to be internationally
prepared for a human pandemic and to collect the
estimated 1.4 billion US$ financial needs. Most
of the money is needed to eradicate the problem
at the source, at animals. A large amount of money
is spent on stockpiling of AI vaccine especially
for countries where the veterinary services is
less organizes, like in Africa. Besides the bilateral
programs the WHO, OIE and FAO are the benefiting
UN organization. |
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January 14-19 and March 14-16
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January 9, 2006 The EU Herd of Cows in ChinaOn January 9 Director-General of the Netherlands’ Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, Mr. Ate Oostra officially opened the EU Herd of Cows in Ritan Park, Beijing. In the company of the ambassadors and agricultural counsellors of EU member states, the delegation of the European Commission, important Chinese counterparts as the Ministry of Agriculture, AQSIQ and CNCA and Dutch companies, Mr. Oostra welcomed the colourful cows in China and toasted to the New Year. During the opening ceremony Mr. Oostra explained the background of this initiative. In 2004 the EU Herd of Cows was created as a result of a joint initiative by the Netherlands Embassy in Prague (Czech Republic) and the organizers of CowParade Prague. In total 26 art cows were painted by artists and school children. Each cow represents a Member State of the European Union and one cow represents the European Commission. During his visit to China (31 May until 6 June 2005) Minister Veerman put forward the suggestion to send the cow herd to China. In this way the Chinese public would be offered the opportunity to see the herd and enjoy the colorful ladies themselves. It is also a token to symbolize the good relations between P.R. China and the European Union. The EU Herd of Cows got a lot of positive attention
from Chinese media. The China Daily, the official
newspaper in China, published a full-page text
on the ‘Spring Festival gift to the Chinese
people’. The EU Herd of Cows will stay in
Beijing until after the Chinese New Year (Spring
Festival). Then they will be shipped to Shanghai
and Shenyang. In Shenyang the cows will brighten
up the important International Horticultural Exposition,
which starts on the first of May. The cows will
also visit Hong Kong before they are shipped back
to the Netherlands.
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12-20 November 2005 Sino-EU Mushroom Business ForumA group of 9 Dutch organisations and companies
involved in the production of mushrooms visited
China from 12 to 20 November. Mrs. Xiaoyong Zhang,
researcher at LEI, co-ordinated the visit of the
delegation. On Monday the 14th the group was received
at Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in
Beijing. Agricultural counsellor, Mr. van Duijn
informed the group about the latest trends in
Chinese economy and agriculture. During dinner
there was time to exchange information about daily
life in China and how to do business. The group,
consisting of CNC, C point, Dalsem Mushroom Projects,
the Greenery, Lutèce BV, MTS Verkooijen,
the Dutch Mushroom Association, Walkro International
BV and Van Leeuwen, visited Chinese companies
involved in mushrooms in Beijing and Kunming.
Main program item was the Sino-EU Business Forum
and match making event in Nantong (Anhui province).
Aroun 60 Chinese companies lined up to talk with
the 9 Dutch companies. The project co-coordinator
Ms. Xiaoyong Zhang was interviewed by Chinese
National TV (CCTV) about the project and Sino-EU
cooperation. |
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8-14 November 2005 Visit of HobahoHobaho, one of the two largest agents operating
in the market of bulbs (the forced bulb market
which comprises bulb growers (2/3 share) and the
dry sales market (1/3 share) aimed at consumers
and institutions) visited Beijing, Shenyang (Liaoning
Province), Kunming (Yunnan Province) and Shanghai.
In close co-operation with the NBSO’s Shenyang
and Kunming and the Department of Agriculture,
Nature and Food Quality at the Beijing Embassy
of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and at CG Shanghai,
Hobaho explored the Chinese market of bulbs and
flowering bulbs. On Tuesday 8 November the group
was welcomed at Beijing’s Embassy by Ms.
Nuytens-Vaarkamp, agricultural attaché.
During the meeting the discussion focused on plant
breeder’s rights. A representative of the
Plant Variety Protection Office of the Ministry
of Agriculture explained the Chinese system and
Mr. Yu Shujun exchanged his experiences with applications
of breeder’s rights. During lunch the group
talked with Mr. and Mrs. Hageman of Da Tong, an
international trading company in bulbs, located
in Beijing. In the following days the group visited
several production and trading locations in the
neighborhood of Shenyang and Kunming. In Shanghai
Mr. Nick Hong, technical assistant of the Agriculture,
Nature and Food Quality Department, accompanied
the delegation’s visit to Shanghai Cao’An
Flower Wholesale Market and Shanghai Flower Port
Co Ltd. Shanghai was the last stop of the trip.
In recent years, China imports some 100 million
flower bulbs from the Netherlands each year and
has become one of the most important destinations
for the Dutch flower bulbs. |
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31 October-8 November HLS group visits ChinaHLS is the association of wholesalers, importers,
agents, shopkeepers and director/owners of chain
stores involved in H (huiden-skins stands for
tanner), L (leder-leather) and S (schoenen-shoes).
The HLS group consisted of 20 persons. On the
31st of October Ms. Nuytens-Vaarkamp, the agricultural
attaché, hosted the reception of HLS at
the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
in Beijing. Together with the colleagues of the
Economic and Development Cooperation Department
of the Embassy the group was informed about the
latest developments in China’s economy and
the hide, leather and shoe sector. The Embassy
of the Kingdom of the Netherlands also emphasised
the possible trading opportunities with the growing
raw hides and skins production sector in Mongolia.
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24 October 2005
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23 September-2 October 2005
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19-21 September 2005, Successful Dutch participation in Sweets China 2005The second Sweets China took place from 19 to
21 September in Shanghai. The Ministry of Agriculture,
Nature and Food Quality organised in close co-operation
with the VBZ (Dutch Biscuit, Chocolate and Confectionery
Industry Association) a collective participation
with a ‘Holland’ pavilion in the main
hall of the Shanghai Everbright Exhibition Centre.
In total 15 Dutch companies were present at the
fair with a stand at the ‘Holland’
Pavilion, an own stand or a stand together with
the Chinese importer/agent. There were in total
207 exhibiting companies of which 71% foreign.
The Netherlands was one of the six countries with
a country group participation. Also Belgium, Brazil,
Germany, Italy and the United States were present.
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16-17 September 2005
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16-24 September 2005
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9-11 September 2005
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1-9 September 2005
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30 August 2005, IBC, 1st Ms Lilly election in ChinaThe Dutch Flowerbulb Promotion Centre (IBC) in
China organized a Ms Lilly contest via the internet.
All amateurs of lilies had the opportunity to
vote on one of the selected Chinese celebrities
to become Ms. Lilly 2005. An event which is known
for many years in Japan, got his premiere in China.
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8 August 2005, First steps to flower certification in China, Stichting MPS and Chinese CNCA signed MoUOn 8 August the Dutch Stichting MPS and the Chinese Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA) signed a MoU creating the first step to flower certification in China within 2 years. CNCA exercise administrative responsibilities by undertaking unified management, supervision and overall coordination of certification and accreditation activities across the country. CNCA recognises the great significance of the establishment and implementation of flower certification system in China to the protection environment, improvement of the quality of flower products and the enhancement of the growers’ and traders’ consciousness of environment. Being a Dutch certification body engaging in the MPS flower certification activities, Stichting MPS has accumulated experiences in establishing the system for the maintenance of environmental, social and economic sustainable development. MPS is willing to provide cooperation and support for the establishment of China’s flower certification system. On the bilateral meeting held between representatives of CNCA and MPS on March 1st in Netherlands, issues on the establishment of flower certification system in China were discussed. Both sides agreed to carry out cooperation in the field of flower certification and have agreed as follows: To set up a flower related database of China and MPS flower certification standard that is suitable for China’s MPS certification. To establish MPS-ABC environmental qualification and extend to other certification schemes(such as MPS-GAP / MPS-Florimark / MPS-SQ) upon request. The goal of the co-operation is to have all flowers
at the Beijing Olympics certified. |
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15 June 2005, Agri-business meeting Beijing,Embassy of the Kingdom of the NetherlandsOn behalf of the official farewell of Mr. Tu,
technical Assistant and Mr. Rubert Konijn, Agricultural
Attaché of the Agricultural department
of Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
the entire agri-business in Beijing attended the
agri-business meeting on 15 June. The Agriculture
Counsellor Henk van Duijn was honoured to see
many business people and governmental officials.
He mentioned that he was impressed by the service
and loyalty of mr. Tu to the agricultural department
for the last 17 years. Mr. Tu was a loyal assistant
to 5 counsellors, Mr. Van Empel, Mr. Noordman,
Mr. Olde Monninkhof, Mr. Gooren and Mr. Van Duijn.
An achievement, which was mentioned by Mr. Maarten
Buitenlaar as well, representative of Dutch businesses
in China, and thanked Mr. Tu for 17 years of support
for Dutch businessmen in China and in the Netherlands.
Everybody present agreed that with the farewell
of Mr. Tu a new era of service would start. |
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15 June 2005, Successful roundtable discussion in cooperation with EU trade projectOn 15 June the Agricultural department of Embassy
of the Kingdom of the Netherlands organised in
close cooperation with the EU trade project a
round table discussion with the title: Market
Opportunities in the Chinese and EU Meat Sectors,
Implications of new legislative developments.
Aim of this round table discussion was to discuss
freely between EU and Chinese experts about the
impact of the EU food law on the EU-Chinese trade
relation and how to adapt to this legislation.
Experts from the Ministry of Agriculture, AQSIQ,
Ministry of Health, Nanjing Agricultural University,
different European countries and major Chinese
and European retail companies exchanged views.
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