The Chinese-Belgian relations have expanded smoothly in the past years, Chinese and Belgian diplomats have said on the eve of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Belgium, the second leg of his trip to Europe.

Diplomats from the Chinese embassy in Belgium have said the relations between China and Belgium have improved remarkably in the past years, with frequent visits of high-level officials from both sides and increase of economic cooperation.

Former Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji visited Belgium in July 2000 and September 2001 and Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt paid a visit to China in March 2002 and also invited Wen for the upcoming trip to his country.

In the economic field, China's trade with Belgium, its 6th largest trading partner within the European Union (EU), hit 6.7 billion US dollars last year, a sharp increase of 36.8 percent over the previous year.

By June 2003, Belgian firms had established 425 projects in China, with a total investment of about 590 million dollars.

A Chinese diplomat said that during Wen's stay in Brussels, the two countries will sign an agreement on establishing a fund to encourage the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.

Exchanges in culture, education, science and technology betweenthe two countries were also active, with 1,946 registered Chinese students studying in Belgium by November 2003, the Chinese embassy said.

"The two countries have become closer in recent years, especially in economic cooperation, ... China plays an important role in the international arena, and Belgium will continue to deepen cooperation with China in various fields," Belgian Foreign Ministry spokesman Patrick Herman said.

Chinese Premier Wen began his five-nation European tour Sunday.He is in Germany for a three-day official visit and will also go to Belgium, Italy, Britain and Ireland and the EU headquarters in Brussels.