China hopes Holland will play active role in China-EU ties: President

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, April 08, 2004

China hopes Holland will play active role in China-EU ties: President

Chinese President Hu Jintao said in Beijing on April 7 that China hoped Holland would play a more active role for the further growth of China-EU relations.

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Hu Jintao met with Dutch Prime Minister

Chinese President Hu Jintao said in Beijing on April 7 that China hoped Holland would play a more active role for the further growth of China-EU relations.

Hu made the remarks at a meeting with visiting Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende.

Holland is to assume the rotating presidency of the European Union (EU) soon and host the seventh China-EU summit.

Thanks to concerted efforts, the China-EU strategic partnership will be uplifted to new heights, Hu told Balkenende.

Hu also expressed satisfaction with the political and economic cooperation between the two countries. "Different social conditions put no barrier to bilateral exchanges and cooperation," he said.

Balkenende was the first Dutch PM to visit China after 1995 and the tour was his first visit to China.

Great changes have taken place in China, also a major player in the international affairs, he told Hu.

The Holland-China and EU-China relationship became more important under the new situation, he said, adding that Holland will made active efforts for the growth of such ties.

The Dutch PM said political mutual trust and compatible economic structure are the important characteristics in the bilateral ties and the two countries could carry out fruitful cooperation in economic, education, environment protection and agriculture areas, as well as in human rights dialogue.

Sino-European economic cooperation has "limitless" potential

The Sino-European economic cooperation has "limitless" potential and will be strengthened by the efforts of the two sides, said Balkenende.

Balkenende made the remark at a press conference held at the end of his four-day China visit started on Monday.

Describing the visit as "successful" and "fruitful", Balkenende said he has exchanged views with Chinese leadership "deeply" and "frankly" on issues of common concern, including economic cooperation.

The Prime Minister, whose country will soon assume the rotating chairmanship of the European Union (EU), said he believed there will be more investment and trade between China and EU.

"The EU will also benefit from the economic tie with China at this moment when it suffers from an economic slowdown and rising unemployment," he said.

Statistics showed that China-EU trade surpassed 100 billion US dollars for the first time in 2003. China-Holland trade volume, in particular, scored a year-on-year growth of 44.3 percent last year, posing Holland China's second largest trade partner in the European Union (EU) second only to Germany. Holland is also the fourth largest European investor in China with a number of big corporations operating in China.

Balkenende suggested China further improve its market transparency and intellectual property rights protection to give foreign investors more confidence to do business here.

He also said he will encourage European small businesses to share experience with their Chinese peers, because vigorous small businesses are essential to a robust economy.

To realize this goal, the Prime Minister said he will hold a Sino-European business leader summit one day after the seventh China-EU summit which will be staged on Dec. 8 in Holland.

At the invitation of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Balkenende arrived in Beijing Monday morning on a working visit to China.

Source: Xinhua

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