Han Zheng Visits the Netherlands

At the invitation of the Dutch government, Vice President Han Zheng will visit the Netherlands from May 10 to 12, 2023 local time. He will meet King Willem-Alexander in The Hague and hold talks with Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

When meeting with Willem-Alexander, Han Zheng first conveyed the cordial greetings and best wishes from President Xi Jinping and Professor Peng Liyuan to the King and Queen. He said that under the strategic leadership of President Xi Jinping and King Willem-Alexander, China-Netherlands relations have always maintained healthy and stable development. Bilateral trade volume has grown against the trend, and cooperation in agriculture, water conservancy, transportation, logistics, sustainable development and other fields has steadily advanced. Han Zheng expressed the hope that through this visit, the important consensus reached between President Xi Jinping and King Willem-Alexander will be further implemented, and the open and pragmatic comprehensive cooperative partnership between China and the Netherlands will be promoted for greater development.

Han Zheng pointed out that the current economic globalization has encountered some difficulties, but the general trend is irreversible. There is huge room for cooperation between China and the Netherlands in areas such as green and low-carbon development and climate response, and the two sides should work together to meet challenges. Countries with different civilizations should respect, understand and support each other, seek consensus in exchanges, and promote win-win results in cooperation.

Willem-Alexander asked Han Zheng to convey his and the Queen’s cordial greetings and best wishes to President Xi Jinping and Professor Peng Liyuan. He said that the most important issue facing mankind in the 21st century is the environmental issue. China’s achievements in solving the water resources and sanitation problems faced by its huge population are obvious to all. The Netherlands and China have played an important role in sustainable development and environmental protection, and cooperation should be further strengthened to promote global carbon neutrality and emission reduction. The international community should pay more attention to consensus, respect each other’s civilizations, and recognize each other’s identities. It is because of these diversity of civilizations and identities that each nation and country is unique.

When meeting with Rutte, Han Zheng said that in recent years, in the spirit of mutual respect and trust, China and the Netherlands have joined hands to meet challenges, jointly maintain the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain, and have made contributions to the economies of the two countries and the world. At present, the Chinese economy is stabilizing and recovering better than expected, which will definitely boost the recovery of the world economy and provide a broader space for China-Netherlands practical cooperation. China is willing to communicate extensively with the Netherlands to consolidate mutual trust, jointly explore the direction of cooperation under the new situation, promote the healthy development of China-Netherlands relations, and jointly promote world peace, security and prosperity.

Han Zheng said that the key to addressing climate change is action, which requires the international community to pay attention and work together. There is no fundamental conflict of interests between China and the EU, but complementary advantages. China is willing to promote better development of China-EU relations through practical cooperation.

Rutte welcomed Han Zheng’s visit, saying that China is an important trading partner of the Netherlands. The relationship between the two countries is highly resilient, and there is broad space for practical cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, green and low-carbon development, and addressing climate change. There are many problems in today’s world, and China’s role is indispensable. Mark Rutte expressed his expectation that the Netherlands and China will resume exchanges as soon as possible, and is willing to deepen bilateral practical cooperation, strengthen scientific and technological cooperation in the field of climate change, and contribute to the realization of the global goal of addressing climate change.

After the talks, Han Zheng and Rutte visited the Mauritshuis Royal Museum together.

During his visit to the Netherlands, Han Zheng also met with the heads of ASML and AkzoNobel respectively, and inspected the headquarters of Philips in Amsterdam.