This book bundles the works of contemporary artists in Belgium and China. China can still be considered as ‘Terra Incognita’ when it comes to art. The image we have of Chinese art is quite cliche: China as an imitator of the western world. A confrontation between Belgian and Chinese contemporary artists is revealing and questions the dominant position of the West, both economically and artistically. This way, the confrontation Brussels/Beijing becomes one between different economic types and the juxtapositions between art and economy. This book is the official catalogue for the exhibition ‘The state of things - Brussels/Beijing’, for Europalia China, curated by Luc Tuymans and Ai Weiwei, held in the Fine Arts Museum in Brussels from October 16th 2009 until January 10th 2010.