Chinese State Councilor Wu Yi said Monday that she believes the level of economic cooperation and trade between China and the Netherlands will go even higher after China becomes a full member of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Wu made the remarks during a talk with Dutch Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Affairs Anne Marie Jorritsma-Lebbink, who is leading a group of officials and entrepreneurs on a visit to China.
Over the past years, both China and the Netherlands have stressed the importance of bilateral economic cooperation and trade. Currently, among members of the European Union, the Netherlands is China's third largest trading partner. It ranks fourth in investments by EU members.
"China and the Netherlands are highly complementary in their economic development," Wu said. "The technical advances in the Netherlands are priority development areas for China. So long as both parties observe the principles of equality and mutual benefit, they will see constant growth in trade and economic cooperation."
China's accession to the WTO brings new opportunities for Dutchand other foreign firms in China, Wu noted. China invites more foreign companies to trade with it or to invest in China. Chinese statistics show that bilateral trade hit near eight billion US dollars last year, up 23.3 percent from the previous year. From January to September this year, trade between the two countries grew another 8.6 percent despite a slowdown world economy.
By the end of September, the number of Dutch-invested companies in China was 901, with contractual investment volume of 8.44 billion US dollars. Most of the Dutch-invested companies reported good profit, according to the MOFTEC.
Jorritsma said she found on her fourth visit to China that the country has changed dramatically. She congratulated China again on its accession to the WTO and said it is the result of China's 15-year effort, and it marks the beginning of a new developmental stage for China's economy, which she described as "full of vitality."
Jorritsma said she hopes cooperation between the two sides can be further strengthened in the new century.
(Xinhua News Agency November 26, 2001)
