本篇202文章介绍的是BCECC的主席贝尔纳·德威特先生。德威特先生自1983年以来一直积极参与中比经贸投资项目，推动中欧合作。他帮助许多中国企业走出国门，并为大量在华欧洲投资者提供了包括法律和商业上的宝贵建议。2017年9月30日，国务院副总理马凯在北京为德维特先生颁发了中国政府友谊奖，表彰他为中国经济和社会发展做出的突出贡献。
德威特先生接受马凯副总理颁发的友谊奖
In this article we introduce the Chairman of our Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce (BCECC), Mr. Bernard Dewit. Mr. Dewit has been actively engaging in China-Belgium economic and trade investment cases since 1983, promoting China-Europe cooperation. He helped many Chinese companies going abroad and gave valuable legal and commercial advice to a large number of European investors in China. For his outstanding contributions to China’s economic and social progress, on 30 September 2017, Mr. Dewit received the Chinese Government Friendship Award in Beijing from Vice-Premier Ma Kai.
50th Belgium China
今年是德威特先生担任比中商会主席的25周年，恰逢比利时王国与中华人民共和国建交50周年。被问及比中两国35年多的经济关系发展历程时，德威特先生回答道：“看到如今两国关系的发展，非常令人难以置信。多年来，我们目睹了中国已成为世界第一大经济体，越来越多的比利时企业和中国开展业务往来。1996年我开始担任商会主席时，我们大约有100名会员，而现在，我们非常自豪拥有了超过500名会员。比利时与中国的对外贸易大幅增长”。
This year, Mr. Dewit celebrates his 25th anniversary of the presidency of the Belgian-Chinese Chamber of Commerce. Coincidently, this year we also celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Belgium and the People’s Republic of China. When asked to look back at these more than three and a half decades of Belgian-Chinese economic relations, Mr. Dewit mentioned that “it is incredible to see how those relations developed. Throughout the years, we have been witnessing that China has become the top economy of the world and more and more Belgian companies are involved in doing business with China. When I started the presidency of the Chamber in 1996, we had about 100 members. Now we are very proud with our more than 500 members. Foreign trade between Belgium and China has increased significantly.”
70年代末，因法律硕士学位和对中国的兴趣的缘故，德威特先生注意到中国政府开始引入新的法律法规。他说：“对于像我这样的年轻律师来说，关注这种现象是非常新奇的。80年代，对中国及中国法律感兴趣的外国律师寥寥无几。如今，中国的外国律师数量非常多，世界各地大学都有中国的法律系。有了这些交换项目，在中国就有了新一代外国学生，国外大学也有了许多中国学生”。
With his Master in Law studies and his interest in China, at the end of the seventies Mr. Dewit noticed that the Chinese government started to introduce new laws and regulations. “For young lawyers like me, it was interesting to follow this new phenomenon. In the eighties, there was only a little club of foreign lawyers who were interested in China and Chinese law. Now, the number of foreign lawyers is huge and universities all over the world have a Chinese law department. With all the exchange programs, there is a new generation of foreign students in China, as well as Chinese students in foreign universities.”
德威特律师事务所在中国和比利时设有办事处，作为德威特律师事务所的高级合伙人，德威特先生有幸见证了比利时公司和投资者对中国法律体系观念上的改变，以及中国知识产权保护的发展。德威特先生说：“中国立法比以前复杂的多”。在中国做生意的外国公司更意识到了在谈判合同时考虑中国法律制度的必要性。保护你的知识产权也很重要。现今，中国的法律体系已经很完善。在外国投资者最多的北京、上海和深圳等大城市，法院系统非常高效。当然，在偏远省份仍然有经验较少的人，但可以肯定的是，中国不是一个没有规则的国家。对我的律师事务所来说，在北京设立办事处是很重要的，因为我可以为前往中国的比利时客户提供法律建议。而对于在比利时的中国客户，我们的中国办事处可以与中国总部保持联系。”
As Senior Partner of Dewit Law Office, with offices in China and Belgium, Mr. Dewit has been a privileged witness of the perception by Belgian companies and investors towards the Chinese law system and the development of the protection of intellectual properties in China. Mr. Dewit states: “China’s legislation is much more sophisticated than it was before. Foreign companies that are doing business in China are more conscious of the necessity to take into account the legal system in China when negotiating a contract. It is also very important to have your intellectual rights protected. Today, the legal system is well organized in China. In big cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, where most of the foreign investors are present, the court system is very efficient. Of course, in remote provinces you still have people with less experience, but for sure, China is not the country without rules anymore. For my law firm, the fact that I have an office in Beijing is important, because I can give legal advice to Belgian clients going to China. For Chinese clients in Belgium, our office in China can stay in touch with the head office in China.”
介于各种原因，德威特先生荣获2017年中国政府友谊奖。他说：“专家受邀参加颁奖典礼是一种莫大的荣幸，这不仅是对外国专家对中国做出贡献的肯定，也是友谊的象征。此外，我也对我们商会为成为中比交流的桥梁所做的努力表示欣慰。未来，无论是对我个人还是对我们商会来说，仍有很多挑战”。
For different reasons, Mr. Dewit was very honored to receive the Chinese Government Friendship Award in 2017. “It is a great honor for experts to be invited to the awards ceremony and it is not only in recognition of the foreign expert’s contribution to the Chinese, but also a symbol of friendship. Furthermore, it was also appreciation for the good work of our Chamber in trying to be a bridge between Belgium and China. Talking about the future: There are still a lot of challenges in the future, both for me personally as for our Chamber.”
显然，对许多比利时企业来说，在中国开展业务仍将是一个挑战。当被问及对未来的期望时，德威特回答说：“中国在世界经济秩序中的重要性将继续增长”。这意味着企业不能忽视中国，中国是一个鼓舞人心的社会团体，能够迅速适应新的挑战。在中国做生意不容易，但比利时企业只要做好充分准备，结合中国市场的特点，是可以取得成功的。我看到，中国在过去25年里为开放经济做了很多努力。我更喜欢一个繁荣的中国，因为繁荣的中国会为我们的企业提供机会。”
Finally, it is clear that doing business in China will remain a challenge for many Belgian companies. When asked about his expectations for the future, Mr. Dewit replied: “China’s importance will continue to grow in the global economic order. This means that companies cannot ignore China. China is an inspiring society, adapting itself rapidly to new challenges. It is not easy to do business in China, but if Belgian companies are well-prepared and take into account the specificities of the Chinese market, you can be very successful. I have seen that China has done lots of efforts the last 25 years to open their economy. I prefer to have a prosperous China, because a prosperous China offers opportunities for our companies.”
【全文转载自公众号BCECC比中商会】