On April 6,
2004, Premier Wen Jiabao of the State Council held talks at
the Great Hall of the People with Jan Peter Balkenende,
Prime Minister of the Netherlands, who was here in China for
a working visit. The two sides exchanged views on
China-Netherlands and China-EU
relations.
Premier Wen noted
that development of China-Netherlands relations has shown a
good momentum in recent years, with mutual understanding and
trust deepening and cooperation in economy and trade
expanding. Last year, bilateral trade volume between the two
countries grew by 44.3%, rendering the Netherlands the
second largest trading partner of China in the European
Union. The Netherlands is the fourth largest European
investor in China and many Dutch companies have enjoyed
rapid growth here. The two countries have conducted many
productive cooperation programs in agriculture and
technology. There are many favorable conditions for further
development of China-Netherlands relations, which are free
from any political obstructions. It is hoped that the two
countries can maintain the exchanges of top-level visits,
seize opportunities and be open-minded so as to push forward
the comprehensive cooperation between the two sides in
economy, technology as well as other
areas.
Prime Minister
Balkenende agreed with the comments and suggestions on
relations between the two countries by Premier Wen. He said
the Netherlands attaches great importance to the friendly
relations with China and is pleased to see the fruitful
results of cooperation with China. He hoped that the two
sides would continue to have fruitful cooperation in all
areas including agriculture, environmental protection and
transportation.
When talking
about China-EU relations, Premier Wen extended
congratulations on the Netherlands' upcoming rotating
presidency over the EU. He said there are no fundamental
conflicts of interests between China and the EU, as both
sides are committed to developing relations with each other.
Last year, the two sides reached consensus on establishing a
comprehensive strategic partnership and the bilateral trade
volume exceeded US$100 billion for the first time in
history, bringing about a desirable win-win situation. China
and the EU have same or similar positions on many important
international issues. Both uphold multi-lateralism, an
enhanced role of the United Nations and maintaining world
diversity. China attaches great importance to relations with
the EU and hopes that the Netherlands will play an active
role in boosting the comprehensive strategic partnership
between China and the EU during its rotating
presidency.
Balkenende agreed
with the observations of Wen on relations between the EU and
China. He said, in recent years, cooperation and exchanges
in political affairs, economy and other fields have been
expanding. The EU and China are strategic partners of each
other. The Netherlands will make active efforts towards
development of bilateral relations between the two sides. He
expressed appreciation for the new achievements that China
had made in human rights, hoping that the human rights
dialogue between the EU and China would continue to have
fruitful results and the two sides could enhance mutual
understanding. Balkenende briefed the Chinese side on the
proposals of the Netherlands with regard to the 7th EU -
China Summit, saying that the EU attaches great importance
to this summit and is looking forward to its success.