Euro-China Centre

About the Euro-China Centre

China's role in the world becomes increasingly prominent and its business environment is changing rapidly. Managers, government officials and representatives of NGOs as well as interested individuals need to be better informed about and prepared for the opportunities and challenges in this dynamic and growing environment. The Euro-China Centre (ECC) at the 'Universiteit Antwerpen' Management School (Antwerp Management School) was established in 2002 to provide a knowledge learning, sharing and exchanging platform about China's economy and of its socio-cultural, political, administrative and business environment. The Centre brings together the vast experience of its academic staff with its vast experience in research projects and training programmes with Chinese universities, government institutions and companies for more than a decade - with the available extensive expertise in management education of Antwerp Management School.
The Euro-China Centre aims:

  1. To develop close links between Chinese and European, Belgian and Flemish universities, government institutions and the business communities in order to promote knowledge creation and exchange;
  2. To promote the 'Universiteit Antwerpen' and Antwerp Management School in China through joint/offshore degree programmes and executive training programmes;
  3. To carry out tailor-made training programmes for Chinese and Belgian organisations/enterprises;
  4. To initiate research projects focusing on the Chinese economy and relevant management issues;


Education

Open programmes

The Centre has developed the following executive training programme for Belgian and Chinese managers

  • Dealing with China: maximising the business opportunities and avoiding the pitfalls
  • InChina programme: Market penetration and expansion
  • China's Local Management Development (CLMD) programme

Tailor made programmes

The centre also organised a number of tailor made training programmes for Chinese government institutions or enterprises

Since 2001, ECC organised more than 20 tailor-made programmes for Chinese government institutions and companies with the participation of about 400 Chinese government officials and managers from China's Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of Information Industry, Shanghai Municipality, Shaanxi province, Shandong province, Zhejiang province, Jiangsu province, Liaoning province, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Shanghai Petrochemicals Corp., etc. These programmes were based on the specific needs of the visiting groups and covered different areas, such as HRM in the public sector, IT management, project management, higher education management, IPR issues, etc.

Cooperation in education

The Centre cooperate with several Chinese universities in a number of master degree and executive training programmes



Research

Over the years, the researchers of the centre cooperated with top Chinese universities and research institutions in joint research projects, such as Fudan University, Zhongshan University, Jinan University, Sichuan University, Nankai University, China Academy of Social Science, Wuhan University, Northwest University, The Institute of European Studies of Macau, etc. Their research focused on the Internationalization of Chinese state-owned enterprises (1993), Operations of Belgian multinational enterprises in China (1993), European direct investment in China (1996-1998), Globalization of the Flemish and Belgian Economy in Asia (1997-1999); Joint Ventures between Multinational Corporations and State Owned Enterprises in the Context of the Chinese Reform Process (1998), Corporate Restructuring in China and Experiences of Belgian Multinationals in the Privatization Process in Central and Eastern Europe to FDI in China (1999-2000), Agglomeration of knowledge intensive industries and the role of multinational enterprises in China and India (1999-2005). The results of these research studies (about 20) were published in books, academic journals and conference proceedings.
The research activities of the Euro-China Centre are also practically oriented and strive to become a centre of excellence for management knowledge exchanges and promotion of mutual understanding between European and Chinese businesses.

Consulting

The Euro-China Centre focuses on the needs of both Chinese and European firms in dealing with their counterparts and is committed to providing management consultancy for their international business activities. With excellent resources including numerous contacts in both government institutions and companies, networks of organizational partners and alumni, outstanding research capability of in-house and visiting scholars, the Centre can offer consulting services in the following areas:

Market Research: Market research provides the information needed to develop a tailor-made and effective marketing strategy for European firms in China. As the market situation in China is changing constantly it is also imperative to continuously analyze the market with respect to trends, in demand, pricing, packaging, etc.

Investment Strategy Development: The investment strategic development analysis focuses on a set of questions related to investment projects, such as business risk analysis, location analysis, market entry form, partner identification and selection; feasibility study, negotiation support, etc. This service is designed not only for European firms investing in China, but also for Chinese companies attempting to enter European market

Sourcing Management in China: The Centre provides European firms with support to their sourcing planning and execution in China. In stages of the sourcing lifecycle, the Centre helps firms to assess the costs, benefits and risks associated with the outsourcing strategy, to establish criteria for selection of suppliers, to define the logistics and to manage quality control and related procedures;

Public Sector Consulting: The Centre provides supports for the strategic development, policy decision and political action for the governmental relations with China, i.e. providing a full range of management consulting services to national, state, and local government agencies. Insights into the issues facing the public sector are necessary to enabled us to design, develop, and implement operational and customer-driven solutions for our roster of clients.

Research/Consulting projects in progress

  • Executive MBA/MBA Programme 'Conventions and Trade Fair Management' (EU Asia-Link Programme in cooperation with Leipzig Graduate School of Management and Tongji University) (2005-)
  • China as a global investor: Can Belgium benefit? (Commissioned by Federation of Enterprises in Belgium-VBO/FEB) (2005/2006)
  • Corporate strategic development and implementation of China's leading companies (Joint research project with China Executive Leadership Academy Pudong-CELAP) (2006-)