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China Academy was founded in 1985 to provide Chinese courses in Brussels. After 27 years the Belgium-China association became the most successful and qualitative Chinese school together with the Confucius Institute in Brussels.

Now China Academy is the academic reference in Belgium in terms of courses aimed at students, entrepreneurs and professionals wishing to settle in China or create commercial relations with China. We provide practical advice by sharing the experiences of experts, diplomats, entrepreneurs and academics. We keep you up to date with the latest business developments in China. China Academy lets you understand China better to inspire your business. We learn you how to start your own business in China and how to trade and invest.

There will be 10 English lectures in 2022 and they will last one hour. After the lecture you will have the opportunity to network.

The fee for all 10 lectures of 2022 will be €500 in total. €250 for students (proof of student card required). €200 for students of the Belgium-China Association and the Confucius Institute in Brussels. All-in members and Business members get a reduction of €50.

To register fill in the form at the bottom of the page.

Schedule 2022

4 October 18:00
dr. Koen De Ridder
Social and Economic Trends in China
11 October 2022 18:00
Bart Horsten
40 years of supporting Belgian investors in China: the story of Horsten International
18 October 2022 18:00
Jan d’Halleweyn
Reflections of a former Belgian Consul-General on diplomatic relations between China and Belgium
25 October 2022 18:00
dr. Joost Hintjens
The New Silk Road and Belgium
8 November 2022 18:00
dr. Philip Vanhaelemeersch
Sinological reflections on language and communication
15 November 2022 18:00
dr. Dominiek Dendooven
Culture, History & City Marketing: commemorating the Chinese presence in West Flanders during the First World War
22 November 18:00
prof. dr. Els Breugelmans
Alibaba: threat and/or opportunity for Belgian SMEs?
29 November 2022 18:00
Yves Brosens
China in Africa (personal reflections from a professional with many years of Africa experience)
6 December 2022 18:00
Frank Willems
The relationship between China and the European Union
13 December 2022 18:00
Hans Van Duysen
The accounting aspects of doing business in China

4 October 18:00 – dr. Koen De Ridder

Social and Economic Trends in China



Koen De Ridder is a sinologist by training and was Flemish Economic Representative in Guangzhou from 2003 to 2010. From 2011 to 2017, Koen stayed in Hong Kong as Head of the Belgian Desk Greater China for a Big Four. Since 2017, Koen has been working at UNIZO as an International Consultant, where he was the driving force behind the China Business Masterclass (2018, 2019 and 2020). Koen will remain active in international trade promotion and, in the context of his current assignment, will sit on the boards of directors of Flanders Investment & Trade and the Foreign Trade Agency. He also remains passionate about China in his spare time as director of the Confucius Institute in Brussels and board member of the Belgium-China Association.



11 October 2022 18:00 – Bart Horsten

40 years of supporting Belgian investors in China: the story of Horsten International



Bart Horsten obtained the degree of Commercial Engineer at the KULeuven in 1991. Since 1998 he has been Managing Director of Horsten International BV and in that capacity, together with his two brothers and a few colleagues in the office in China, he has built up a strong reputation as an advisor for Belgian and European starters and SMEs that are active in the Chinese market. market. His expertise and network in China builds on the experience of the late Joos Horsten, his father and the man behind Janssen Pharmaceutica’s successful joint venture in China since the 1980s.

Bart has been a member of the board of directors of Xi’An Thiebaut Pharmaceutical Packaging Co. since 2008. Ltd and in 2016 he founded MyChinaWeb, an online marketing agency dedicated to social media and e-commerce in China. Since 2017, he has also been a member of the board of directors of the Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Bart is a gifted speaker who likes to share his passion for China with others. He is a guest lecturer at the Antwerp Management School.



18 October 2022 18:00 – Jan d’Halleweyn

Reflections of a former Belgian Consul-General on diplomatic relations between China and Belgium



Jan d’Halleweyn is a retired diplomat and “Early China Believer”, for example, in 1992 he had his 12-year-old daughter teach Chinese and was surprised that his bank could not help him with Chinese shares. Of his 33-year foreign career that took him to 11 countries, he found the four years as Consul General in Guangzhou (Canton) to be by far the most exciting. Since then, he has continued to passionately study and follow the latest developments in China.



25 October 2022 18:00 – dr. Joost Hintjens

The New Silk Road and Belgium



Dr. Joost Hintjens obtained a Commercial Engineer degree from the University of Antwerp in 1986 and a Master’s degree in Management from the Vlerick School of Ghent University in 1993. He first developed a career in various European medium-sized companies with a focus on marketing and logistics. He was general manager of firms in Belgium, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic for a French industrial group when he started teaching in 2002. First part-time at the Atheneum, but from 2006 full-time at ArtesisPlantijn Hogeschool as a logistics lecturer. He is currently chairman of the Logistics department and researcher at the University of Antwerp in the Department of Transport and Spatial Economics, where he specializes in the role of ports in the transport chain. He obtained his PhD in Applied Economic Sciences in November 2019 with a study on port cooperation. He is mainly interested in the role of logistics in medium-sized companies and their relationships with their customers and suppliers in the control of the chain as well as in the opportunities and threats of the New Silk Road.



8 November 2022 18:00 – dr. Philip Vanhaelemeersch

Sinological reflections on language and communication

dr. Philip Vanhaelemeersch is coordinator of the China program Howest University of Applied Sciences and director of the Confucius Institute in Bruges. Philip holds a degree in Sinology (1994, KU Leuven) and a degree in Religious Studies (1999, KU Leuven). In addition, he also obtained a Master in the Study of Religion (2000) and a D.Phil. in Modern History (2005) at Oxford University. He has published ‘Sun Gan: Wedervaren van een Chinese Arbeider in de Eerste Wereldoorlog (2017)’ and ‘Gu Xingqing: Mijn herinneringen als tolk voor de Chinese Arbeiders tijdens WOI (2010)’.



15 November 2022 18:00 – dr. Dominiek Dendooven

Culture, History & City Marketing: commemorating the Chinese presence in West Flanders during the First World War



Dr. Dominiek Dendooven is a historian who studied at the universities of Brussels, Antwerp and Kent. Since 1998, Dominiek has been affiliated with the In Flanders Fields Museum as a scientific collaborator. He was responsible for exhibitions such as ‘People-Culture-War’ (2008) and ‘Sjouwers for the War’ (2010) and is (co-)author of numerous books about the First World War. He recently wrote ‘Asia in Flanders Fields. Indians and Chinese on the Western Front, 1914-1920’ (Epo, 2019) on the Chinese Labour Corps.



22 November 18:00 – prof. dr. Els Breugelmans

Alibaba: threat and/or opportunity for Belgian SMEs?

Els Breugelmans (PhD, University of Antwerp, 2005) is Full Professor of Marketing at KU Leuven, campus Antwerp, Faculty of Economics and Business. She is an expert in the domain of retailing, and does scientific research on a variety of retailing-related topics, including omni-channel shopping, loyalty programs and retailer-manufacturer relationships. She conducts rigorous and managerially relevant research, resulting in a win-win for her academic peers and collaborating companies. Her academic work has been published in major academic outlets such as Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of the Academy of Management Science and Journal of Retailing. She is also often consulted by media, to elucidate on retailing trends, from her academic perspective.



29 November 2022 18:00 – Yves Brosens

China in Africa (personal reflections from a professional with many years of Africa experience)



Yves Brosens obtained a master’s degree in law from the Catholic University of Leuven (1989), a master’s degree in economic law from the Université catholique de Louvain (1990) and a master’s degree in law from the University of Georgia (1992). After his studies, he worked as a lawyer at De Bandt van Hecke & Lagae (Linklaters) from 1990 to 1996 and as a partner at DLA Piper from 1998 to 2016, where he was promoted as Co-Chair French Speaking Africa and Global Head Infrastructure Africa. From 2016 to 2020, Yves was a partner at ALTIUS where he was head of the Finance & Africa Team. In 2020, Yves founded PKM Africa, a fast-growing law firm that provides legal support to companies doing business in and with Africa, with a primary focus on strategic legal advice.


6 December 2022 18:00 – Frank Willems

The relationship between China and the European Union




Frank Willems has been closely following the development of China for 40 years. He did business with China and was a director of the Belgian Chinese Chamber of Commerce. He also visited China out of private interest and was president of the Belgium-China Association. He taught for two years at the Normal University in Shenyang. In 2009 he was a founding member of ChinaSquare.be.



13 December 2022 18:00 – Hans Van Duysen

The accounting aspects of doing business in China



Hans Van Duysen holds a master’s degree in commercial and financial sciences from KUL (Former-EHSAL). He is a (fiscal) accountant (ITAA) since 1996. After a short period as a lecturer in general accounting, financial analysis and analysis of the annual accounts in Brussels, Hans took over the management of his family business, which has been producing high-quality sleeping comfort for two generations. Since 1994 Hans has been professionally active in and with China and over the years he developed a great passion for its culture. In 2002 he was elected Chairman of the Belgium-China Association and in that capacity he continues to work selflessly for the Belgian-Chinese friendship. Also professionally, China remains of the utmost importance to Hans, in 2006 he established his own factory in Shenzhen that manufactures parts for his factories in Belgium and Germany.

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