Netherlands wants more high-tech Chinese exports

China was one of the leading providers of high-tech goods to the Netherlands in 2012, leaping ahead of the United States and Germany, according to an embassy official.

China also looks set to maintain this position over the coming years.

The Netherlands is home to Europe's largest port, Rotterdam, and has a proud trading tradition, and China is playing an increasing role in that trade, said Li Fei, economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese embassy in The Hague.

"Made in China no longer means cheap and low quality here."

Li cited figures from Statistics Netherlands, a government body that compiles information about the country.

In 2011, China passed Germany and the US to become the largest source of high-tech products imported by the Netherlands.

"It's exciting news, and there is little doubt that China can maintain this position in the coming years," he said.

The European Union is China's largest trade partner, and the Netherlands is China's second-largest trade partner in Europe.

Li described the Netherlands as "the barometer of the European economy" as it's a key hub for both exports and imports.

In 2011, the Netherlands imported high-tech goods valued at 96 billion euro ($128 billion). Of these imports, 18 percent came from China. More than half of China's exports to the Netherlands are high-tech products, mainly laptops and mobile phones, Li said.

Previously, China's shipments to the Netherlands consisted mainly of garments and toys.

While China's overall export growth weakened in 2012, the proportion of exported technology goods continued to expand.

"We have full confidence in our high-end goods, although we also need to improve the quality of the low-end categories," Li said as he rebutted claims that Chinese goods were low quality.

China overtook the EU in 2006 as the world's largest high-tech products exporter, a position it still holds, Li said.

In 2012, about 60 percent of China's exports were mechanical and electrical goods.

China is the second-largest source of foreign direct investment in the Netherlands, following the US.

In 2011, 29 of the 193 FDI deals in the Netherlands were done by Chinese companies, and the investment was focused on electronics, high-tech, services and agriculture.

As many as 330 Chinese companies have established a permanent business presence in the Netherlands, and investment is growing. In 2010 Chinese companies conducted 24 investment deals and this number increased to 30 in 2011.

"China will maintain its position as the second-largest investor in the Netherlands in 2012 and in the years ahead," Li said.

There are growing opportunities for Chinese investors in the country, Li said, and many companies in the country that are facing difficult times would welcome Chinese investment.

A government survey in November showed that one-third of the country's companies were in difficult financial circumstances.

The economy shrank by 1.1 percent in the third quarter last year and the central bank warned of an even worse scenario in 2013.

As Chinese companies increasingly enter the Netherlands, "demand for financial support grows," said Zhao Caiyan, general manager of (Luxembourg) S.A. Rotterdam Branch of Bank of China.

Bank of China opened a branch in Rotterdam in 2007, the first Chinese financial service provider in the Netherlands.

"Our customers are in a wide range of sectors. We help them settle down and register businesses here, paving the way for expanding further into Europe," said Zhao.

Despite the growing presence, much more could be done, according to a leading consultancy firm.

Amsterdam-based consultancy Boer & Croon said that only 3 percent of Chinese merger and acquisition deals conducted in Europe over the past four years were in the Netherlands.

But the consulting firm predicted a growing number of Chinese companies would seek deals in the "high-tech sector" in the Netherlands.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, the top three destinations in Europe for Chinese overseas direct investment are Luxembourg, France and the United Kingdom.