South Holland province maintains a government-to-government relationship with the province of Hebei, China, that is explicitly aimed at facilitating mutual business-to-business relationships. The relationship started in 1993 and turned into an official friendship relationship in 2007 by the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The latest MoU was signed for the period 2016-2020 and focused in particular on water management and the environment, sustainable development, agriculture and horticulture, new energy and education.
Both provinces decided to extend the MoU for the period 2021-2025. Feeding and greening the megacities, sustainable urbanization and water management form the basis of the new MoU.
The previous ceremonial signing moments invariably took place during a trade mission in one of the two provinces. Due to the Covid-19 crisis, a trade mission is currently not an option. Instead, Hebei and South Holland will organize an online trade mission between November 16-18.
The South Holland Hebei Week will consist of several parts:
- Online governor’s meeting between the governor of Hebei, Mr. Xu Qin, and King’s Commissioner Jaap Smit about the content and implementation of the new MoU
- Investment Promotion webinar between South Holland and Hebei, co-organized by InnovationQuarter and the Hebei Commerce Department
- Agro-food webinar “Upgrading the Greenhouse Sector in Hebei” organized by South Holland Province, CAU Futong, and the Hebei Agriculture Department with keynotes from Vice Governors Shi Qingshuang and Adri Bom-Lemstra and hosted by Professor Zhang Tianzhu of CAU Futong, including a matchmaking event for Agri-/horticulture companies
- Webinar “sponge Infrastructure in the City under the Influence of Climate Adaptation” organized by South Holland Province, the Dutch PIB Urban Challenges consortium, Hebei Water Department, and Hebei Urban Construction Department