On 26 August local time, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who was paying an official visit to the Netherlands, held talks with Foreign Minister Stef Blok in The Hague.

Wang said that his visit to Europe amid COVID-19 demonstrates China’s confidence in the Netherlands defeating the virus and hope for further growth of China-Netherlands relations. He underscored the need to promote mutual openness, a hallmark of bilateral ties and an asset for shared progress, in a post-COVID world.

Wang noted that China will work with the Netherlands to support multilateralism and set a fine example of upholding free trade, mutual openness and fair competition with a view to writing a new chapter of openness and win-win cooperation in bilateral relations, and contributing to world economic recovery and response to global challenges.

Wang expressed China’s readiness to work with the Netherlands to deepen cooperation in traditional fields such as agriculture, water conservancy, aerospace, aviation, education and scientific research, and tap cooperation potential in emerging fields including biomedicine, cross-border e-commerce, and green development. China hopes to work with the Netherlands, an international transport hub, to strengthen Belt and Road cooperation and establish maritime fast lanes between the Port of Rotterdam and Chinese ports.

Wang also said that as China continues to develop, it will open even wider and build an economy featuring higher-level openness. Companies from the Netherlands are welcome to seize the opportunities presented by China’s further opening-up and participate in the third China International Import Expo. Meanwhile, China hopes its companies will find a fair, just, open and non-discriminatory business environment in the Netherlands.

Wang emphasized the need for China and the EU to intensify coordination and cooperation in the face of COVID-19 and the impact of unilateralism and jointly send out a positive signal of upholding multilateralism, enhancing global governance and contributing to an open world economy.

Wang conveyed China’s readiness to work with the EU in preparation for productive high-level exchanges later this year, including completing the negotiations on an investment agreement within the year and strengthening dialogue and cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, climate change, green development, digital economy, and COVID-19 response. China hopes that the Netherlands will continue to play an active role in promoting the sustained, sound and steady growth of China-EU relations.

Blok noted that Netherlands-China relations are open and the two countries have maintained robust cooperation. The Netherlands will keep up the momentum of high-level exchanges with China, deepen cooperation in various fields, jointly fight COVID-19, and accelerate economic recovery of both countries.

Blok said that the Netherlands echoes the importance of upholding multilateralism and free trade. It stands ready to work with China to enhance coordination in global affairs, meet global challenges such as climate change, and uphold an open free trade system for mutual benefits. EU-China relations are very important, and the Netherlands is committed to achieving the EU-China investment agreement.

The two sides also had an in-depth exchange of views on international and regional issues of shared interest.