On October 26, 2015, President Xi Jinping held talks at the Great Hall of the People with King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands. The two heads of state spoke highly of China-Netherlands relations, and agreed to stick to the correct track of win-win cooperation, expand and consolidate bilateral comprehensive cooperative partnership featuring openness and pragmatism and thus bring more benefits to the two peoples.
Xi Jinping pointed out that with the joint efforts of both sides, the recent years witnessed an increasingly mature China-Netherlands relationship, with mutual respect and win-win cooperation becoming its main theme and the bilateral comprehensive cooperative partnership featuring openness and pragmatism set by both sides being steadily advanced. China and the Netherlands should work together to maintain the big picture of bilateral relations by always taking the building of a high-level political mutual trust as the goal. China is willing to, together with the Netherlands, enhance exchanges and cooperation in human rights and judicial field and intensify communication in safeguarding world peace and stability, addressing climate changes and other global issues. Both sides should also tap potential to advance trade and investment facilitation, and expand the scale and improve the level of bilateral trade and investment. The two nations could cooperate in a wide range of areas including irrigation, agriculture and husbandry in a in-depth manner, deeply explore the cooperation potential in such areas as high-end manufacturing, aviation and aerospace, biopharmacy, new energy, smart cities, “Internet Plus” action plan and cooperation in the third market, forge new growth points in industrial cooperation, continue deepening cooperation in such sectors as banking and insurance, innovate the investment and financing modes, and offer more support for respective economic development and bilateral economic and trade cooperation. China and the Netherlands have achieved an all-round connectivity, which offers a unique advantage for strengthening bilateral cooperation centering on the “Belt and Road” initiative. Both sides should maintain the cooperative advantages in marine transportation and focus on promoting the railway and air transportation, so as to provide strong support to connectivity between China and Europe and in the Eurasian continent. China is ready to, together with the Netherlands and other relevant parties, build the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) into a professional and highly-efficient platform for infrastructure financing that can accommodate mutual benefit and win-win results of all parties. Both sides should carry out more active people-to-people and cultural exchanges and cement the public opinion foundation of bilateral relations. China is willing to boost exchanges and cooperation with the Netherlands in panda protection, museum management, cultural innovation, TVs and films, education, sports and other sectors.
Xi Jinping stressed that China always attaches great importance to the EU from a strategic perspective, firmly backs the European integration process and supports the EU members to handle the refugee crisis through cooperation. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relationship between China and the EU, and the China-EU relations are facing new development opportunities. The Netherlands will take the rotating presidency of the EU in the first half of next year, and it is hoped that the Netherlands could play an active role in promoting the steady development of overall China-Europe relations.
King Willem-Alexander noted that the Netherlands and China maintain a traditional friendship. China was an important ally of the Netherlands in Asia during the World War Ⅱ. Despite of different national conditions, under the new circumstances, both countries can carry out mutually beneficial cooperation in agriculture, husbandry, irrigation, finance, law-based governance and a wide range of other areas, and maintain close communication and coordination in the UN peacekeeping operation, sustainable development, dealing with climate change and other major international issues. The initiatives of the “Belt and Road” and the AIIB put forward by China are of great significance. The Netherlands stands ready to take an active part in relevant cooperation and support the docking and cooperation between the “Belt and Road” initiative and the Investment Plan for Europe. The Netherlands agrees to boost bilateral people-to-people and cultural exchanges in education and sports, and is grateful to China for agreeing to cooperate in research on panda protection. The Netherlands supports the EU to promote its relations with China and will actively promote free trade and personnel exchanges when it assumed the rotating presidency of the EU.
After the talks, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of cooperative documents covering finance, trade, aviation and aerospace, TVs and films, health care, education, science, technology, panda protection and other sectors.
Prior to the talks, President Xi Jinping held a welcoming ceremony for King Willem-Alexander at the square outside the East Gate of the Great Hall of the People. Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress Chen Zhu, State Councilor Yang Jiechi, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Zhang Qingli and others were present.