Business, political ties strengthen cooperation

Future relationship of the two nations looks bright based on mutual growth

The future of China-Netherlands business ties will be decided by stable political relations, fast-growing services businesses and complementary goods trade, especially in high-tech manufacturing and healthcare sectors, said government officials.

"Backed by strong political and business ties, both sides have more space to expand trade and investment, and deepen cooperation in such fields as modern agriculture, energy preservation, environmental protection and urbanization this year," said Yu Jianlong, secretary-general of the Beijing-based China Chamber of International Commerce.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte is scheduled to address the Boao Forum held in Hainan province from April 8-11.

Eager to expand trading between both sides, in 2014 China and the Netherlands agreed to build a comprehensive partnership that stresses openness and pragmatism.

Bilateral trade volumes between China and the Netherlands grew by 16.5 percent year-on-year to $78.38 billion in 2017, and China remained the Netherlands' third-largest trade partner after Germany and the United Kingdom, data from the General Administration of Customs show.

Goods trade between the two countries also jumped 19 percent year-on-year to $13.32 billion in the first two months of this year.

China mainly exports manufacturing equipment, port cranes, steel, wind power products, electronics, textiles, garments and household appliances to the Netherlands.

The Netherlands mainly exports dairy and other agricultural products, water treatment equipment, chemical and pharmaceutical goods, mechanical equipment, transport materials and tobacco to China.

Xue Rongjiu, deputy director of the Beijing-based China Society for WTO Studies, said China will continue to export consumer goods in exchange for the Netherlands' high-tech goods such as electronics, chemicals and environmental protection technologies.

"Most of their imports are complementary. Surely, it isn't direct competition," he said.

To bolster the growing trade between the two countries, several Chinese cities such as Nanchang, Yiwu and Chengdu have operated regular freight trains to Rotterdam in the Netherlands since 2015.

"As staunch supporters of the open economy and economic globalization, the Netherlands and China share more interests in jointly tackling global challenges," said Tu Xinquan, a professor of international trade at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.

Though anti-globalization seems to be on the rise and European integration is suffering setbacks, China and the Netherlands share a common stance on many major issues. Both countries agree on economic globalization and multilateralism, an opposition to protectionism and a commitment to the Paris Climate Agreement, Tu said.

In February the two countries agreed to carry out more mutually beneficial cooperation through the joint implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2018. The agreement was reached between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Dutch King Willem-Alexander during their meeting in Beijing.

Xu Hongcai, an economist with the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, said many countries' surging demand to improve their infrastructure with next-generation projects are set to benefit Dutch and Chinese companies across many industries.

zhongnan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/10/2018 page7)