Xi meets Dutch PM Rutte

BALI, Indonesia -- Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte here Tuesday afternoon.

Noting that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of ambassadorial diplomatic relations between China and the Netherlands, Xi said the bilateral relationship is presented with a new prospect of development.

The most valuable experience for this relationship is a commitment to openness and pragmatism. The two sides need to carry forward this fine tradition, intensify high-level exchanges, strengthen political mutual trust, and keep the bilateral relations on the right track, said Xi.

It is important to uphold mutual benefit, advance cooperation in such fields as agriculture, water management and energy, and achieve greater progress in their open and practical comprehensive cooperative partnership, he added.

The world is a community where all countries need to cooperate with rather than "decouple" from one another. The attempt to politicize economic and trade issues must be rejected, and stability of global industrial and supply chains should be maintained, said Xi.

China will work with the Netherlands to uphold and practice true multilateralism, stay on the right course of economic globalization and defend the WTO-centered multilateral trading system, in an effort to jointly create an enabling international environment for development, said Xi.

It is hoped that the Netherlands would enhance Europe's commitment to openness and cooperation, and play a positive role in promoting the healthy and steady growth of China-Europe relations, he added.

For his part, Rutte expressed his pleasure to meet again with Xi in a year of special significance that marks the 50th anniversary of the ambassadorial-level diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and China.

A series of events have been held to celebrate this anniversary, and "Dream of the Red Chamber," a masterpiece of Chinese classical literature, has been translated into Dutch for the first time, said the prime minister.

The Netherlands recalls with vivid memory Xi's successful state visit to the country in 2014, and looks forward to enhancing exchanges with China and sustaining the strong momentum of growth in the bilateral relations, said the prime minister.

The Netherlands will work with China, with a focus on the bigger picture, to unleash potentials, expand dialogue and cooperation in innovation, climate change and other areas, and promote greater achievements in bilateral relations in the five decades to come, said the prime minister.

Ding Xuexiang, Wang Yi and He Lifeng were present at the meeting.