24 March 2017 – 

Three new projects got the go-ahead for implementation by the BACES Board. The three projects have different formats and different start dates, but one will start in March 2017 and all three will run in 2017.

Project 1: The Role of Normative Power in EU Foreign Policy and Its Implication for China.

It concerns research activities (including a public promotion at EU Day in China), seminars and a Postgraduate forum.  The project will run from 1 March 2017 till 1 April 2018. Scholars will debate the normative power of Europe for the past 15 years. Only recently has its scope become less Eurocentric and has the focus gone more to third countries and regions. Increasing importance is attached to China’s response to and impact on the EU@s normative power. The research project will focus on:

  • Sino-European conceptual differences on the EU’s normative power
  • Sino-European cognitive similarities and differences on universal values of normative power
  • the Eu’s normative power and its implications on Chinese diplomacy
  • the status quo of China’s soft power policy and its adjustment.

The expected outcomes of this project are: policy suggestions, consulting reports to the concerned parties and government sectors in Beijing, EU Day 2017 (in Chongqing). The project will involve 12 researches from both sides of the project; attendance at EU Day 2017 is expected to be some 300 participants. 8-10 researchers will join the seminars in Gent and Chengdu.

Project 2: Chinese-Belgian Technology Transfer: connecting universities and industries.

A two-day workshop will be organised in April 2017 and the participating will come from all universities engaged in the UCIP (University-Centered International Platforms) Project. UCIP creates synergy between the regional interests and the universities’ mission in order to accelerate and increase the creation of societal and economic values and intensify the R&D collaboration. The workshop will look at:

  • match-making to align interests of Chinese regional high-tech ecosystems and the Brussels high-tech ecosystem. Each partner university will bring one key representative (either someone from a government agency, industry association, company or incubator). They will be matched with a Brussels counterpart.
  • Confronting theory with practice: inviting innovation and technology transfer actors of the Brussels Capital Region (BCR) and the ecosystems of the participating Chinese universities.
  • keynote speakers will be invited to the workshop.

The expected outcomes of this workshop will be to set-up matches between people from the Brussels Capital Region and China with relevant reporting, set out the confrontation between theory and practice and the multidisciplinary viewpoints on EU-China technology transfer (keynote speakers). The project will involve some 8 people from the Brussels side, some 8 representatives from China and or two keynote speakers and roundabout 10 external parties. This project falls under the project group ‘EU-China Cross-Border Innovation & Technology Transfer‘ activities – check out their page to find out more about what they do.

Project 3: EU-China relations: actual conditions and future perspectives.

A seminar will be help on 6-7 July 2017, set against the backdrop of serious challenges facing the European Union (EU) today, including the consequences of the global economic and financial crisis and the eurocrisis (since 2008), but also the outcome of the Brexit referendum and the surge in populism in several EU Member States, and the 2016 presidential elections in the United States. This seminar wants to discuss the state of EU-China relations and the perspectives of youths from both sides. It aims for a better understanding of the new situation for EU-China relations within the context of the above-mentioned changes. A discussion will take place of the EU’s current policies vis-a-vis China and to try and shed some light on possible future developments in EU and China relations. The seminar will also look at Chinese and European youngsters understand each other and jointly analyse survey results from both sides as their attitudes are important in the future of China-EU relationship development. It is meant to be an international experience for the Chinese students and a forum for Belgian students (from UGent and VUB) to share ideas with their Chinese counterparts. In all some 30 participants will be involved.