An aerial drone photo taken on March 14, 2024 shows an international freight train preparing to depart from Harbin international container center station in Harbin, capital of northeast China's Heilongjiang province. [Photo/Xinhua]

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte visited China recently, describing himself as an "old friend of China" when talking to students of Peking University. His visit gave him the opportunity for a thorough review of bilateral relations with China. 

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the "open and pragmatic partnership for comprehensive cooperation" between the two countries, while they celebrated their 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2022.

The Netherlands was among the first European countries to recognize China after the founding of the People's Republic of China. In 1972, the foreign ministers of the Netherlands and China signed a declaration to elevate their mutual diplomatic representations to the ambassadorial level. Five years later, Princess Beatrix traveled to Beijing, and in 1999, then as queen, she visited again. The Royal House of the Netherlands enjoys long-standing, warm relations with Chinese leadership. In 2018, for example, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima made a working visit. Discussions centered on green financing, urban development, water management and climate change, among other things.

Trade undeniably stands at the heart of Sino-Dutch ties. Statistics from the Netherlands demonstrate the rise in trade volume between the two sides from 2015 to 2022. In particular, Dutch exports to China increased from 8.2 billion euros ($8.8 billion) in 2015 to 14.6 billion euros in 2022, whereas imports from China rose from 29.1 billion euros to 64.2 billion euros. The Netherlands mainly imports modems, computers, semiconductors, solar panels and clothing. Meanwhile, it exports specialized machinery such as chip machines, medicines, pharmaceutical products and processed food like milk powder. 

Last but not least, the Netherlands remains a key destination for Chinese investments in Europe. According to an Ernst & Young study, the Netherlands was ranked fourth with 10 Chinese investments in 2023, trailing behind Germany, the U.K. and Italy, but ahead of France and Switzerland. Investment transactions in the Netherlands amounted to 1.1 billion euros. Notably, only the Netherlands and Germany showed improvement in their performance in this economic sector from the previous year.

Overall, the visit of Prime Minister Mark Rutte to Beijing was constructive. In a social media post, Rutte described the visit as "successful." Clearly, this does not imply that issues of disagreement were overlooked in the Beijing talks, particularly on economic and technological matters. However, candid exchanges are always beneficial. As Rutte put it, "The Netherlands needs to work with and engage in dialogue with China."

George N. Tzogopoulos is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/GeorgeNTzogopoulos.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

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