Dutch journalist says Xi shows 'determination'
Dutch journalist and author Fokke Obbema still remembers how President Xi Jinping received him when visiting the Netherlands last year.
Obbema met Xi at a state banquet hosted by the Dutch royal family for Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan. He said Xi was friendly, though he looked a bit tired.
Xi's response to Obbema's English greeting was a firm Chinese ni hao.
When Obbema directed those words to Peng, she responded in English with, "Howdo you do?"
"Her charm is in the same league as that of Queen Maxima of the Netherlands who is standing next to her," Obbema wrote in his new book, China and the West, of which one chapter focuses on President Xi Jinping.
"He surprised all the China-watchers in the Western world by being a very confident and not a risk-averse type of leader," Obbema said during an interview with China Daily.
Obbema said Xi has shown courage, determination, firmness and authority in the anti-corruption campaign.
He also said that Brussels and Washington have been asking Beijing to be a responsible stakeholder and Beijing has recently responded quite well, especially by setting up the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
"Many European countries have (responded) well but the US has failed to understand the importance of the AIIB," said Obbema.
Referring to the US-led TransPacific Partnership, Obbema said: "To be honest I think that, as in the case of the AIIB, the US made a mistake by not including China, because it can easily be seen as a move to contain China."
Obbema had not visited China until 2008. What he found in Beijing and Shanghai was different from the stereotyped reports, helping trigger him to write a book about China.
After careful interviews with hundreds of people from all walks of life, Obbema published the Dutch version of China and the West: Hope and Fear in the Age of Asia.
In the book, Obbema said both sides should strive for broader investment and trade cooperation that should focus on Europe as a whole.
fujing@chinadaily.com.cn
