Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The People’s Republic of China
Li Qiang Has a Phone Call with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte
Updated: February 03, 2024 02:05

On the evening of February 2, 2024, Premier Li Qiang of the State Council had a phone call with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Li Qiang said that since the establishment of diplomatic relations more than 50 years ago, China and the Netherlands have always respected each other and treated each other as equals, while bilateral dialogue and cooperation have yielded fruitful results. China and the Netherlands are important economic and trade partners, with bilateral trade volume staying at a high level for many years in a row. The two countries' cooperation in agriculture, water conservancy, science and technology, and other fields has been at the forefront of China-EU cooperation, bringing tangible benefits to both countries and their people. Practice has fully proved that only openness and cooperation can yield a better win-win situation and best serve the fundamental interests of both sides. He expressed the hope that the Dutch side will continue to work with China toward the same direction to seek common ground while shelving differences, so as to uphold the good situation of bilateral cooperation. China is ready to work with the Netherlands to further deepen practical cooperation, strengthen people-to-people exchanges in education, culture, tourism, and at sub-national levels, and facilitate personnel exchanges between the two sides, for the sake of better mutual benefit and win-win results.

Rutte extended warm wishes to the Chinese people for the upcoming Spring Festival and said this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the open and pragmatic partnership for comprehensive cooperation between the Netherlands and China, and the two countries have achieved fruitful results in cooperation in various fields. The Netherlands is ready to deepen cooperation with China in economy, trade, and other fields, enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges, jointly safeguard the openness of the global economy, and promote the further development of Netherlands-China and EU-China relations.