China-Belgium:Study On The Interplay Of Diplomatic And Economic Relations

The China-Belgium relation is intriguingly unique and rich.However,it seems that the topic has not been widely searched and analysed in recent History.This work intends to tackle the issue of Sino-Belgian interaction and cooperation throughout recent History in terms of economy and diplomacy.The focus of this thesis is set on the interplay between economy and diplomacy in international relations.Thus,any person interested in China-Belgium,China-EU relations could find precious information along those pages but not only them.Indeed,the strategy that is applied between the Asian superpower and a European Kingdom which uses its ideal location and position on the Old Continent is a must-know for any researcher of the ChinaWest relations.This work focuses on two variables: diplomacy and economy.Since the beginning of their interrelation,the common story of China and Belgium has been animated by diplomatic interests in a first time(the will of Christianisation of China by the West).But,very soon,the interest of the West towards China became cultural and economic(popularity of Chinese products in the West,attempts of colonisations).As technique evolved and the international context became more stable,China and Belgium gradually increased the tempo of their relations until today.The current situation of the SinoBelgian interaction and cooperation is triggered by economic as well as diplomatic interest.The purpose of this work is to analyse the interplay of diplomatic and economic issues in the context of the China-Belgium relation.This work will be divided in chapters as follows:1)Introduction: quick introduction to the working method for the creation of the thesis.Reassertion of the different goals of the paper as well as the context.2)China-Belgium Diplomacy: introduction to the history of Sino-Belgian diplomatic relations from the time of missionary Verbiest to current diplomatic issues.Diplomatic issues are analysed in the light of the economic impact that is linked to international relations.This chapter is ended by the analysis of two phenomena: 1.The impact of Chinese diplomacy on Belgian international affairs: how the offering of pandas from China,a powerful symbol,to one of the regions of the Federal government of Belgium created disputes between the representatives of the Dutch-speaking and Frenchspeaking communities.2.The crucial role of Brussels for China as the de facto capital city of the European Union.How China does not have any other option than going through Belgium for befriending other member-states of the EU.3)China-Belgium trade and investment: introduction to the history of Sino-Belgian economic relations followed by a focus on current economic issues between China and Belgium.This chapter emphasises on the different investment projects and importations/exportations which go on between both nations.4)Interplay of diplomatic and economic relations between China and Belgium: this is the body and most important part of this work.After the numerous information collected during the previous chapters of the thesis,this section focuses on the actual interrelation between diplomacy and economy in the Sino-Belgian context.Particularities of the People's Republic of China and the Kingdom of Belgium are taken into account through three case studies:1.Emergence of Belgian food & beverage brands on the Chinese market: Belgian brands have blossomed on the Chinese market in the past decades: Godiva,Chimay,Duvel,Stella Artois etc.Most of those brands are related to the food & beverage sector.This case study focuses on the reasons of this success as well as their impact on the ChinaBelgium economy and investment.2.Emergence of Chinese cuisine in Belgium: in the same spirit as the previous case study,this one sets the action on the other side of the continent and analyses the thriving of Chinese cuisine in Belgium.This success is translated by the astonishingly growing number of Chinese restaurants on the Belgian soil.Chinese immigration and economic situation of Belgian cities have an impact on the number of Chinese restaurants on their territory.3.CBTC the most important Chinese investment in Belgium yet: the academic town of Louvain-la-Neuve in Belgium welcomes in the 2018 the opening of a Chinese intelligent valley focused on the research and cooperation between Chinese high-tech company(Huawei,Xiaomi etc.)and Belgians start-ups.This case study analyses the economic impact of the presence of the CBTC in Belgium as well as the diplomatic reasons which pushed Chinese investors to grow an interest on the Belgian market.The end of this chapter is dedicated to the answering of the main question of this work: is the engine of the Sino-Belgian relation diplomacy,economy or both?Moreover,the ending of the main chapter will be an occasion to think and talk about projects and policies which should be implemented for the improvement as well as the acceleration of Sino-Belgian economic and investment projects in the light of current diplomatic situation.5)Conclusion: the end of this thesis mentions the profound reasons of the interplay of economic and diplomatic issues and policies in a modern international relation through the context of China-Belgium cooperation.Finally,a study of anticipation will finish the conclusion,trying to understand how different scenarios could lead the ChinaBelgium relation to success or failure in the next few decades according to the state of global issues.A survey concerning the opinion of Belgian citizens towards the growing presence of China on the international scene as well as an index of specialised Sino-Belgian terms and expressions are present in the appendix of this work.