China, the Netherlands agree to deepen cooperation

BEIJING - Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte agreed to further deepen cooperation between the two countries in a phone conversation on Friday evening.

Li said that since the establishment of diplomatic ties more than 50 years ago, China and the Netherlands have always respected each other and treated each other as equals, while bilateral dialogue and cooperation have yielded fruitful results.

Li noted that the two countries are each other's important economic and trade partners, with bilateral trade volume staying at a high level for many years in a row. The two countries' cooperation in agriculture, water conservancy, science and technology has been at the forefront of China-EU cooperation, bringing tangible benefits to both countries and their people, he said.

Practice has fully proved that only openness and cooperation can yield a better win-win situation and best serve the fundamental interests of both sides, Li said, expressing the hope that the Dutch side will continue to work with China to seek common ground while shelving differences, so as to uphold the good situation of bilateral cooperation.

China is ready to work with the Netherlands to further deepen practical cooperation, strengthen people-to-people exchanges in education, culture, tourism and at sub-national levels, facilitate exchanges of personnel visits, for the sake of better mutual benefit and win-win results, Li said.

For his part, Rutte extended warm wishes to the Chinese people for the upcoming Spring Festival, and said this year marks the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the open and pragmatic partnership for comprehensive cooperation between the two countries, while the two countries have achieved fruitful results in cooperation in various fields.

He said the Netherlands is ready to deepen cooperation with China in economy, trade and other fields, enhance people-to-people and cultural exchanges, jointly safeguard the openness of the global economy, and promote the further development of Dutch-China and EU-China relations.