China-Netherlands Ties: China's favorable business environment attracts Dutch investment

World
Europe

03:18

And it's not just goods and services that's making up that two-way trade. Preferential policies and an increasingly open market are attracting diverse investments to China's economy. CGTN's Yang Jinghao explains how one province in the country's Southwest is drawing interest from the Netherlands, in more ways than one.

The city of Chengdu has long been associated with giant pandas. Today, a Dutch man is bringing this cute creature to tens of millions of kids around the world through his mobile games. In 2012, Thijs Bosma created his brand – Dr. Panda, in this southwestern economic hub.

THIJS BOSMA, FOUNDER DR. PANDA "Chengdu is a very good place for software development. I think the biggest reason is because we can get good people here. That goes for Chinese people – there are many good Chinese people, and foreigners also really like Chengdu, so it's easy for us to keep them."

With an international team of employees from some 10 countries, Dr. Panda has grown into the world's second largest developer of paid kids' apps. Its 37 games have generated more than 100 million downloads. In 2017, the company opened an office in Shanghai to diversify its products.

JORIS EERTINK, LEAD PROGRAMMER DR. PANDA "I think there is a very good mix between fun and education. I think a lot of kids see the small funny details that we put in our games. We have a lot of good designers in our company. That makes our games really fun to play."

YANG JINGHAO CHENGDU "Dr. Panda's success in Chengdu shows that southwest China is attracting more diversified investments from the Netherlands. During the past few years, many enterprises have established sales offices, factories or even R&D centers here on their own or in partnership with Chinese companies."

The Netherlands Business Support Office has witnessed the new trend and attributes this to the good business environment here.

WILLIAM VAN TONGEREN, CHIEF REPRESENTATIVE NETHERLANDS BUSINESS SUPPORT OFFICE, CHENGDU "You see the changes from year to year in cities in southwest China. It's very big. It feels maybe a little bit like, some of my friends say, like Shanghai feels 20 years ago. People are very optimistic. There's a lot of energy. So it's a place where doing business is very exciting."

As China pledges to open even wider to the outside world, the trend is expected to continue.

WILLIAM VAN TONGEREN, CHIEF REPRESENTATIVE NETHERLANDS BUSINESS SUPPORT OFFICE, CHENGDU "Undoubtedly, this will bring more Dutch companies to China. I think China has shown the opening-up is really the way they want to go, and not just saying it, but also realizing it in many policies and many places. So it's becoming a very attractive place for foreign companies."

Now, the express railways linking Chinese and European cities, including Tilburg in the Netherlands, have further boosted bilateral trade. The Representative says he believes more Chinese companies will also flock to his country for opportunities. Yang Jinghao, CGTN, Chengdu, Sichuan Province.