Gilbert Van Kerckhove: Key Person in Beijing's Olympic Dream

As an old China hand, Gilbert Van Kerckhove did more than just witness China’s meteoric economic growth; he in fact played a helping hand in pushing China along the path toward modernization.

An electrical engineer by trade, Van Kerckhove first came to Beijing in 1980, where he was tasked with establishing a representative office for a utilities company. “I didn’t come to China to stay for 35 years,” he says lightheartedly; but as the years churned by, the gregarious Belgian accumulated a certain expertise – one that enabled him to bridge an important cultural divide when it came to doing business in China.

Van Kerckhove's office in 1981

Leveraging that know-how, Van Kerckhove helped facilitate important infrastructure projects in Shanghai in the 1990s, including Line 3 of the Shanghai Metro and the electric equipment for the 88-story Jin Mao Tower in Pudong. His business savvy, firmly rooted in pragmatism and “understanding both sides,” made him the ideal intermediary between Chinese and foreign business entities.

In early 2000, Van Kerckhove accepted a position as a senior consultant to the Beijing municipal government. When the capital later won its bid to host the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, he soon found himself in a unique position as the sole foreigner admitted into the highest echelons of Beijing’s Development Planning Commission.

His responsibilities were daunting, chief among them: to secure financing for major construction projects, including the now-iconic Bird’s Nest and Water Cube. Nevertheless, the man nicknamed “The Fireman” – Van Kerckhove had garnered a reputation as a go-to when the situation was seemingly impossible to handle – was indeed up to the task.

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This article first appeared in the Jan/Feb 2017 issue of the Beijinger, which you can read via Issuu.com, via PDF, or in hard copy at all of your favorite venues across town.

Click the cover to read the January/February 2017 edition of the Beijinger

Photos: Uni You, courtesy of Gilbert Van Kerckhove

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