Chinese growth, a boon for the Dutch economy
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E-mail China Today, July 4, 2016
"China's economic growth has provided business opportunities for the Netherlands,"said André Driessen, deputy head of mission at the Royal Netherlands Embassy to China. He added that China and the Netherlands were jointly building an extensive cooperation partnership and that much headway had been made in sectors such as politics, economy, culture, education, environmental protection, and health care.
Deepening China-Netherlands Relations
In recent years, China and the Netherlands have seen frequent political and economic exchanges.
In March 2014, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan visited the Netherlands. In October 2015, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands paid a state visit to China following Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte's visit in March the same year. At his meeting with the Dutch King, Xi Jinping said that China and the Netherlands had achieved all-round interconnectivity, which offered a unique advantage for strengthening the Belt and Road cooperation. King Willem-Alexander emphasized that the Belt and Road Initiative was a great opportunity that was well worth the cooperation of the whole world with China.
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President Obama has voiced support for China’s hosting of the G20 Summit, thus sending a positive message as regards stimulating sustainable global economic growth to the international community. |
Driessen commented that the frequent interaction between the high-level leaders of China and the Netherlands and their explicit attitudes manifested that the two sides attach great importance to their strategic partnership. He also noted that last year, King Willem-Alexander not only led government officials but also a trade delegation that covered sectors such as agriculture, food, life science, and health to China. Both state leaders witnessed the signing of 15 memorandums and cooperation agreements.
The bilateral exchanges between China and the Netherlands in fields such as the economy, trade, and culture have maintained good momentum and increasingly deepened. In terms of economy and trade, the Netherlands has been China's second largest trade partner in the EU for 12 consecutive years since 2003. China is currently the largest trade partner of the Netherlands outside the EU and its second biggest source of investment. In terms of people-to-people and cultural exchanges, more and more cultural projects have been delivered, and the number of Chinese tourists to the Netherlands has been on the rise. In 2015, Chinese holidaymakers booked 436,000 nights in Dutch hotels, a rise of 33 percent over 2014. According to Driessen, the Netherlands plans to provide more convenient visa services to Chinese tourists by expanding the current four visa application centers in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chongqing to 11 around the country. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and its cooperative partners now run 40 to 50 flights weekly between Amsterdam and eight Chinese cities.
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King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands visits Dashilan historical and cultural district near Tian’anmen Square in Beijing on October 26, 2015. |
"The state visit of the Dutch King and Queen to China last year was the highlight of our bilateral relations,"said Driessen. "This year Dutch diplomatic organs in China are willing to deepen the open and pragmatic cooperation between China and the Netherlands,"he added.
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