Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said yesterday that his country was drafting a new policy toward China to boost bilateral ties.

 

The comments were made during Balkenende's meeting with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of the ongoing Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit in Helsinki, Finland.

 

Balkenende said the new policy was aimed at strengthening coordination with China on major international and regional affairs, and encouraging bilateral trade and investment.

 

The new policy would make the one-China policy the foundation of its ties with China, he said, reiterating that China's fast development served as an opportunity rather than a threat to his country.

 

The Netherlands would give priority to cooperation with China in politics, trade, and sustained development, he added.

 

For his part, Wen expressed his appreciation for the efforts the Netherlands had made to develop Sino-Dutch ties, saying the two sides should maintain the trend of high level exchanges, strengthen coordination on energy security, nuclear non-proliferation and African development.

 

He said China hoped to deepen its cooperation with the Netherlands in the fields of environmental protection, agriculture, electronic information, biology, financial services and transportation.

 

Wen also met with his Polish counterpart Jaroslaw Kaczynski yesterday.

 

Wen arrived in Helsinki Saturday for the two-day ASEM summit, which marks the ASEM's 10th anniversary and has gathered heads of state or government from 13 Asian countries and the 25 member states of the EU.

 

(Xinhua News Agency September 12, 2006)