Chinese attracted to Belgian diamonds

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The plans were announced at the occasion of the Belgian trade mission in China headed up by Belgian Crown Prince Filip (photo).

ICBC is China’s biggest bank and also has a branch in Brussels. In the Great Hall of the People, at the Tiananmen Square in Beijing, Belgian Crown Prince Filip and his wife Princess Mathilde were present at the launch of the Diamond Road Show which was organised by the Antwerp World Diamond Centre (AWDC), ICBC and Arts & Crafts.

At the centre of the attention was Belgium’s most important export product, diamonds. Mickey Weinstock of the Antwerp diamond sector: “We are talking about big diamonds in a price range between 10,000 euros and a couple of million euros.”

Rich ICBC clients were invited to the exhibition to have the first choice, but some just stuck to window shopping. “These are really beautiful diamonds, but I won’t be able to buy them. Maybe my husband will be able to do so in the future”, a female visitor told the VRT.

In the long run, Chinese bankers want to account for 20 percent of the budget of the Antwerp diamond trade. “Both parties will draw a benefit from this”, explains Ari Epstein of the ADWC. “For us, China is the market of the present and the future. It was actually the Chinese who took the initiative for the investment project, we are of course very happy with this.”