Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The People’s Republic of China
Wang Yi Has a Phone Call with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Hanke Bruins Slot
Updated: November 08, 2023 23:36

On November 8, 2023, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi had a phone call with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands Hanke Bruins Slot at the latter's request.

Wang Yi congratulated Hanke Bruins Slot on her new position, and said that the Netherlands is the gateway of China-EU cooperation, and relations between China and the Netherlands have maintained a sound momentum. Bilateral exchanges in various fields have fully restarted after the pandemic and exports from the Netherlands to China have increased rapidly, demonstrating the huge potential of cooperation between the two countries. China appreciates the Netherlands for pursuing a positive policy toward China and stands ready to work with the Netherlands to give full play to the advantages of the open and practical comprehensive cooperative partnership between China and the Netherlands, thoroughly plan bilateral exchanges at the next stage and further facilitate personnel exchanges between the two countries, so as to promote the sustained and steady development of relations between China and the Netherlands. Wang Yi expressed the hope that the Netherlands will adhere to the spirit of independence, and the tradition of freedom and openness, follow international trade rules and uphold the spirit of contract, and jointly advance cooperation in economy and trade, science and technology, innovation and other fields, and jointly maintain the stability of the global industrial and supply chains.

Hanke Bruins Slot said that trade relations between the Netherlands and China are strong, and China is the Netherlands' most important trading partner in Asia. The Netherlands is glad about the gradual resumption of bilateral exchanges at all levels between the two sides since the beginning of this year, and is ready to work with China to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation and jointly push forward the further development of open and practical comprehensive cooperative partnership between the Netherlands and China.

The two sides had an exchange of views on China-EU relations. Wang Yi emphasized that there is no fundamental conflict of interests between China and the EU, with consensus far outweighing differences. China-EU relations do not depend on and should not be interfered with by any third party. China is ready to work with the EU side to adhere to the positioning of China-EU partnership and promote the sustained, sound and steady development of China-EU relations. Wang Yi expressed the hope that the Netherlands will continue to play a constructive role in this regard and jointly prepare for the next stage of China-EU high-level exchanges.

The two sides also had an exchange of views on international and regional issues of mutual interest and concern.