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Han Zheng Visits the Netherlands

2023-05-13 17:46

At the invitation of the Dutch government, Vice President Han Zheng visited the Netherlands from May 10 to 12, 2023 local time, met with King Willem-Alexander and held talks with Prime Minister Mark Rutte in The Hague.

When meeting with Willem-Alexander, Han Zheng first conveyed cordial greetings and best wishes of President Xi Jinping and Professor Peng Liyuan to the King and the Queen. He said that under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and King Willem-Alexander, China-Netherlands relations have always maintained sound and steady development. The bilateral trade volume has grown despite downward trends and the cooperation in agriculture, water conservancy, transportation, logistics, sustainable development and other fields has made steady progress. Han Zheng expressed the hope that through the visit, the important common understandings reached between President Xi Jinping and King Willem-Alexander will be further implemented and the open and pragmatic partnership for comprehensive cooperation between China and the Netherlands will achieve greater development.

Han Zheng pointed out that the current economic globalization has encountered some difficulties, but the general trend is irreversible. There is great room for China and the Netherlands to cooperate in such fields as green and low-carbon development and climate response, and both sides should join hands to meet challenges together. Countries with different civilizations should respect each other, understand each other and support each other, seek consensus in exchanges, and promote win-win results in cooperation.

Willem-Alexander asked Han Zheng to convey his and the Queen’s cordial greetings and best wishes to President Xi Jinping and Professor Peng Liyuan. He said that the most important issue facing humanity in the 21st century is the environmental issue. The achievements made by China in tackling issues of water resources and sanitation facing the huge population are recognized by all. The Netherlands and China have played an important role in sustainable development and environmental conservation, and should further strengthen cooperation and advance global carbon neutrality and emission reduction. The international community should focus more on consensus, show respect for respective civilizations, and recognize each other’s identities. It is precisely because of the diversity of these civilizations and identities that every nation and country becomes unique.

When having talks with Mark Rutte, Han Zheng said that in recent years, China and the Netherlands have upheld the spirit of mutual respect and mutual trust, joined hands to address challenges, jointly ensure the stability of global industrial and supply chains, and made contributions to the economies of the two countries and the world. Currently, China’s economic stabilization and recovery momentum is better than expected, which will surely boost the global economic recovery and provide a broader space for pragmatic cooperation between China and the Netherlands. China stands ready to have extensive communication with the Netherlands, consolidate mutual trust, jointly explore the direction of cooperation under new circumstances, promote the sound development of China-Netherlands relations, and jointly advance world peace, security and prosperity.

Han Zheng noted that the key to tackling climate change lies in actions, requiring joint attention and concerted efforts of the international community. Between China and Europe there are no fundamental conflicts of interests, and instead, they have complementary advantages. China stands ready to push forward China-Europe relations for better development through practical cooperation.

Mark Rutte welcomed Han Zheng’s visit, and said that China is an important trading partner of the Netherlands. Bilateral relations are resilient and strong, and there is vast space for practical cooperation in economy and trade, green and low-carbon development, climate response and other fields. There are many problems in the world today, and China’s role is indispensable. Mark Rutte expressed his expectation for the rapid resumption of the exchanges between the Netherlands and China, and the readiness to deepen bilateral practical cooperation, strengthen scientific and technological cooperation in the field of climate change, and contribute to achieving the global target of tackling climate response.

After the talks, Han Zheng and Mark Rutte jointly visited the Mauritshuis Royal Picture Gallery.

During his visit to the Netherlands, Han Zheng also met respectively with responsible persons for ASML and AkzoNobel, and paid an inspection visit to the headquarters of Philips in Amsterdam.

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