Mr. Jaak Gabriels’ China Ties

Mr. Jaak Gabriels， Mayor of Bree in Belgium， arrived in Kunshan of Jiangsu Province on March 28， 2012 to attend the China International Imported Products Expo. He was accompanied by the staff of the Foreign Affairs Office of the Yangzhou Municipal Government， a city that has friendshipcity relations with Bree.

He looked a bit tired. In less than a week， he had visited Beijing， Nanjing and Yangzhou， and met several old friends including former Chinese Ambassador to Belgium Zhang Qiyue， made a formal call on Aigo， a wellknown company， in a bid to persuade it to conduct a study tour of his city， gave exclusive interviews， putting forward suggestions for building Yangzhou into a world famous city.

To someone who was approaching 70， such arrangements were indeed a bit too tight. But the work was far from finished. After sharing a bottle of white wine with his fellow delegates to refresh himself， he appeared in high spirit at the meeting with provincial leaders that evening together with Herman Reynders， Governor of Limburg.

At the Expo’s opening ceremony the next day， wearing a T-shirt commissioned by the Expo， along with a big smile， he handed out 1，000 color leaflets on the friendly exchanges between Bree and Yangzhou specially made for the occasion. It was most touching and impressive to see the profound feelings he cherished for Yangzhou.

Indeed， Mr. Gabriels has every reason to be proud. The contact between the two friendship cities has not only reached unprecedented heights， but also ensured the economic and cultural cooperation he initiated between Limburg and Jiangsu fruitful. At the Expo， Limburg Province organized an economic delegation and set up an exhibition stall to promote its advanced products and technology.

A Senior Politician

Jaak Gabriels had been elected mayor of Bree six times， serving for 35 years until retirement in 2012 as one of the longest serving mayors in Belgium. What’s more， he was also a se- nior member of the Belgian Parliament and the Flemish Parliament， and once served as minister of agriculture and small enterprises and Flemish minister of economy， foreign policy and trade and housing.

Because of his outstanding performance， he was granted the title of“Minister of State for life” by the King and the Federal Government of Belgium.

Ties with Yangzhou

Jaak Gabriels also showed he had international vision. In 1999， he headed a 25-member Bree Municipal Government and trade delegation to visit Yangzhou for the first time， during which he held an exhibition of Bree products and signed with Yangzhou Mayor Su Zequn a MOU on establishment of friendly exchange relations.

He made great efforts to develop ties. From 2005， he led a delegation to visit Yangzhou at least once a year. Under his influence， Vice Mayor MarieJeanne Raedschelders-Savelkoul， Secretary General Stefan Goclon， Director General of the Finance Bureau Jean Gielen and adviser to the Mayor Guy Hallet gave full support to the economic and cultural exchanges.

Whenever a Yangzhou delegation visited Belgium， Mayor Gabriels would personally accompany it on its visit. In 2005， when Wang Jun， Deputy Secretary of the Yangzhou Municipal Committee of the CPC， led a delegation to Belgium， the Mayor not only organized a grand welcoming ceremony in the City Hall， but also arranged a meeting with Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and with the Chairman of the China Committee of the European Commission.

In 2006， when the two cities signed the agreement on the establishment of friendship-city relations， he invited the Belgian Royal Air Force to give an aerobatics display. He also attended the activity held by the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs celebrating the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Belgium and China.

To let more people know about Yangzhou， he designated one meeting room in the City Hall， named it “BreeYangzhou Embassy” and appointed Jean Gielen “Ambassador to Yangzhou”. On display are articles relating to bilateral exchanges， gifts from Yangzhou， reference material and photos， recording the events and stories in the contact between the two cities.

In May 2005， at the opening ceremony of “The Embassy”， Zhang Qiyue， Chinese Ambassador to Belgium， spoke highly of this new way of publicity and economic and cultural promotion， saying it had boosted the friendly relations between China and Belgium and given great support to her work.

Build a Cultural and Art Bridge

Under the initiation of Mayor Gabriels， a “Yangzhou Week” and a“Bree Week” were held in the two cities respectively in 2006 and 2007. The activities included cultural and art performances， culinary exchanges， arts and crafts exhibitions， economic and trade inspection tours， tourism promotion， etc.

During the Yangzhou Week， chefs from the city reproduced the dishes and delicacies described in the Chinese classic novel Dream of Red Mansion， folk artists put on puppet shows and tanci （storytelling in Yangzhou dialect to the accompaniment of stringed instruments）， showing the long and rich cultural tradition of the city. Yangzhou’s arts and crafts， pedicure and photo exhibitions distinctive of local features drew over 2，000 visitors from Belgium as well as from its neighboring countries like Germany and the Netherlands.

In 2007， Mayor Gabriels headed a 110-member delegation of government officials， businesspeople and an art troupe to visit Yangzhou for a colorful Bree Week much enjoyed by citizens. The activities included Belgian food culture demonstrated by Belgian chefs， on-the-spot making of the world-famous Belgian chocolate， a dance show by young people， a special opera show， and the beautiful singing of young vocalist Martine Reyners.

Belgian food and delicacies available in the streets gave local people the opportunity to try Belgian snacks while listening to foreign music outside supermarkets. The get-together between hundreds of Yangzhou youth and their Belgian peers certainly forged great friendship between them.

Whether it was economic exchange， culinary demonstration or cultural performance， Mayor Gabriels would be on hand to provide guidance and offer encouragement to the performers. His close ties with people moved everyone. On occasions， we were surprised to see the Mayor singing heartily with the singers and could not help admire his artistic accomplishment.

Actively Promotes Economic Cooperation

Economic cooperation is the foundation of exchanges between friendship cities. In 2007， Yangzhou held its first economic promotion in Brussels. With the help of Bree， over 100 personages from the Belgian political， economic and press circles attended the activity.

JBC， the largest chain of clothingstores in Belgium and the third largest in Europe， has more than 100 stores across the region. In 2006， Jan Baptiste Claes， President of JBC， came to Yangzhou with Mayor Gabriels on a study tour. He became so fond of the city that he decided to set up a China Procurement Center there.

In three years， the company’s procurement in China rose from 10% to 30% of its total global procurement with an annual value of US$40 million. JBC attached importance to supporting local economic development， making an effort to find suppliers in Yangzhou and neighboring cities. It now has regular cooperation partners such as Botai Group and HuBao Group， the former honored as a “best supplier”.

VITO NV is a Belgian research institute engaged in the application of environmental protection technology. In 2005， encouraged by Mayor Gabriels， a letter of intent on cooperation in environmental protection was signed with Yangzhou. It was the first time Yangzhou received a foreign government grant.

The cooperation project was carried out between 2006 and 2008. The two cities respectively invested 250，000 euros for the introduction of EU-standard Aurora technology for monitoring and forecasting air quality in Yangzhou. It helped Yangzhou analyze its air pollution， formulate environmental protection policies， draw urban development plan and train qualified personnel.

Initiate New Model of Friendly Exchanges

In 2009， Mayor Gabriels was appointed Shanghai Expo Ambassador by the Government of Limburg for his outstanding leadership and organizational ability and rich diplomatic experience. He used his personal influence to actively promote the establishment of friendship-province relations between Jiangsu and Limburg and helped the twinning of five pairs of friendship cities — Nanjing and Hasselt， Pingjiang District of Suzhou and Genk， Changzhou and Lommel， Guangling District of Yangzhou and Maaseik， Hanjiang District of Yangzhou and Harmont Achel.

He paid formal calls on the governments of Chinese city or district to explain his vision of starting a comprehensive provincial-level cooperation through friendship-city ties. His suggestion received a positive response from all sides. On May 14， 2010， Zhang Weiguo， Deputy Governor of Jiangsu， and Herman Reynders， Governor of Limburg， signed the MOU for friendship and cooperative ties and witnessed the signing of five MOU’s between cities of the two provinces in Nanjing.

Later， all participants were invited to attend the opening ceremony of “Limburg Week” in the BelgiumEU Pavilion at the World Expo Shanghai. Deputy Governor Zhang Weiguo praised Yangzhou for initiating a new model of friendship-city exchanges at the provincial， municipal and district levels with foreign countries.

Jaak Gabriels cherishes profound feelings for China and treats friends sincerely. Having visited Yangzhou many times， he had gained a deeper understanding of China and its culture. In 2007 and 2008， when some anti-China activities in support of “Tibetan Independence” and sabotaging the Olympic torch relay took place， he refuted the slander on China and publicized its development at every opportunity.

Jaak Gabriels retired from his mayoral post in 2012， but he is still concerned with China. Invited by Governor Reynders， he now serves as Limburg Ambassador to China and helps the province to carry out the exchange and cooperation with China.