Companies must take preventive measures to reduce risk
The Brussels terrorist attacks will have a limited impact on Sino-Belgian economic relations, the former Belgian ambassador to China told the Global Times on Sunday.
Brussels was hit because it is the heart of Europe. But being the heart of Europe remains the main reason for investors to establish a presence in Brussels, noted Patrick Nijs in a message sent to the Global Times on Sunday. "This will not change," he said.
About 31 people were killed in twin attacks on Brussels Airport and a rush-hour metro train in the Belgian capital on Tuesday, triggering security alerts across Western Europe and bringing some cross-border transport to a halt, according to media reports. The Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Volkswagen Group's Audi unit stopped production at its factory in Brussels following the attacks, US-based auto industry news website autonews.com reported on Tuesday.
Belgium has been an important investment and trade destination for Chinese companies in recent years. For example, Volvo - which was purchased by Zhejiang Geely Holding from Ford in 2010 - makes vehicles including the S6 at a port city in northwest Belgium. The facility will take up the V60 model line in early 2017, media reported in January.
"We don't see any impact on the company's business in Europe," a source close to Volvo told the Global Times on Sunday, noting that only some employees' business trips to Brussels had been canceled.
Besides Volvo, Chinese firms such as Huawei Technologies Co and ZTE Corp have also tapped into the Belgian market in recent years.
"The impact [of the terrorist attacks] on Chinese investment will be marginal. Chinese investors are reasonable and intelligent," Nijs said, noting that Chinese investors will understand that this is a global issue, not limited to Belgium.
The recent incident may have a short-term influence on Chinese investment and trade activities with Belgium, as both direct flights and business trips may be canceled, noted Wang Haichen, Belgium-based Chinese outbound investment expert and CEO of Atlas International Culture.
"However, over the long term, the Belgian government will continue to strengthen the security force with the aim of preventing this kind of incident from happening again, which will also secure the investment environment," he told the Global Times on Sunday.
Considering the recent series of terrorist attacks in Paris and Brussels, Chinese companies do need to take into account this type of uncertainty in European countries, said Bai Ming, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation. "How to avoid potential losses due to these unpredictable incidents should also be highlighted by Chinese investors in the future," he said.
