On May 5, 2004, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao of the State Council held talks with Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt in Brussels and the two sides exchanged views on Sino-Belgium relations and significant international issues of common interest.
Wen said that China would like to express congratulations upon the historic enlargement of the European Union (EU) on May 1, which shows the European people's inspiration to boost strength through concerted efforts and to promote the integration process. A strong and stable EU will surely exert a constructive impact on international affairs.
Wen said that Belgium, as an important member of the EU and the seat of the headquarters of the EU and other international organizations, plays a unique role in the EU's development process. Belgium is a developed and industrialized country, while China is a developing one; therefore there are great potentials for bilateral cooperation. Viewing Belgium as a reliable partner, China attaches great importance to developing the relations between the two countries, and would like to comprehensively upgrade bilateral relations so as to score more progress.
To this end, Wen proposed four suggestions. First, continue to maintain top-level exchanges and enhance mutual understanding. Second, strengthen dialogue and consultations, and expand cooperation in various fields. Both China and Belgium insist on improving the role of the United Nations (UN) and are committed to promoting world peace and development. The two sides should carry out dialogue and cooperation on key issues in bilateral and multilateral areas. Third, establish long-term and stable economic and trade partnership. Belgium is China's important trade partner in Europe. In the hope that the two sides can broaden cooperation areas, China welcomes Belgium to increase its investments in China in such areas as agriculture, environmental protection, high-tech and energy resources, and to take an active part in China's western development and the transformation of old industrial bases in China's Northeast. Fourth, enhance friendly cooperation in education, science and technology, sanitation and other areas, and enrich pragmatic cooperation between the two countries in various fields through friendly exchanges between regional governments.
Verhofstadt noted that there are good relations between Belgium and China, and in recent years these relations have enjoyed considerable development. The achievements since China's adoption of opening-up policy have won respects for China from the international community. Belgium hopes to strengthen its political dialogue with China, to expand economic and trade cooperation between the two sides, and in particular to support and encourage Belgian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to seek business opportunities in China. The Belgian government will continue to adhere to the one-China policy, support the EU to lift the arms sales ban to China at the earliest date possible and give China full market economy status.