Xi meets Dutch PM in Beijing

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, who is paying a working visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 27, 2024. [Xinhua/Li Xueren]

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday met with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte in Beijing.

Noting the Netherlands has become a veritable "gateway" for China-EU cooperation, Xi said China is ready to maintain exchanges at various levels with the Netherlands, adhere to communications and dialogue, and pursue mutual benefits and win-win results.

China is willing to expand imports of high-quality goods from the Netherlands and welcomes Dutch enterprises to invest in China, said Xi, adding it is hoped that the Dutch side will provide a fair and transparent business environment for Chinese enterprises.

Xi urged the two sides to promote traditional cooperation in such fields as agriculture, water conservancy and energy, and tap the potential of cooperation in artificial intelligence, green transformation and silver economy, among others.

He also expressed the hope that the two countries will continue to take more measures to facilitate personnel exchanges and encourage educational, cultural and sub-national exchanges.

China is willing to strengthen communication and coordination with the Netherlands in multilateral institutions such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization to jointly address global challenges related to climate change and biodiversity, said the Chinese president.

Xi stressed that economic globalization may encounter headwinds, but the historical trend will not change. There is no way out for "decoupling and breaking the chain," and opening-up and cooperation are the only choice.

He said China always believes that the mindset of zero-sum game characterized by binary opposition has long been a thing of the past, and a genuinely secure world should be one featuring deep integration and interdependence. Creating scientific and technological barriers and severing industrial and supply chains will only lead to division and confrontation.

The Chinese people also have legitimate development rights, and no force can stop the pace of China's scientific and technological progress, said Xi, adding China will continue to pursue a win-win approach, open wider to the outside world at a high level, and share development dividends with all parties.

Xi said China maintains a continuous and stable policy towards Europe and regards Europe as an important pole and cooperative partner in a multipolar world. It is hoped that the Netherlands will continue to play a positive role in promoting mutual understanding and the development of constructive relations between China and Europe, he added.

Noting that bilateral cooperation between the Netherlands and China shows huge potential and prospect, Rutte said that "decoupling and breaking the chain" is not a policy choice of the Dutch government, since any act undermining China's development interests will only boomerang.

He said the Netherlands values friendly ties with China, adding that the country is willing to deepen its partnership with China, facilitate personnel exchanges, strengthen cooperation in such fields as economy, trade and carbon emission reduction, and enhance coordination at the G20 and other multilateral occasions, as well as on international and regional hotspot issues. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, who is paying a working visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, March 27, 2024. [Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan]