Wang Yi Meets with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Netherlands Wopke Hoekstra

On February 18, 2023 local time, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs Wang Yi met with Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Netherlands Wopke Hoekstra on the margins of the 59th Munich Security Conference.

Wang Yi said that openness and realism are essential for China-Netherlands relations. While some countries are pushing unilateralism and protectionism and addicted to decoupling and severing industrial and supply chains, China hopes that the Netherlands will uphold the principle of independence and its tradition of open cooperation, remove distractions, maintain the sound momentum of bilateral cooperation, and play a positive role in ensuring the stability of the global industrial and supply chains and promoting global economic recovery. China is promoting high-level opening up, which will open new prospects and provide new opportunities for its cooperation with the Netherlands. China-Netherlands relations have now turned to a new chapter of another 50 years. China is ready to carry out high-level exchanges with the Netherlands, advance mutually beneficial cooperation and achieve common development. The Netherlands is a founding and core member of the European Union, and is a gateway to China-Europe cooperation, and China appreciates that the Netherlands regards China as an important partner of Europe. China and Europe are partners, not rivals, and China stands ready to enhance exchanges and understanding and deepen mutual trust with Europe.

Hoekstra said that the world is an interdependent one and all countries are responsible for firmly upholding multilateralism and supporting multilateral mechanisms and international rules. Glad to see that China has overcome the pandemic and achieved robust economic recovery and quick resumption of  external exchanges and cooperation . The Netherlands is looking forward to  closer exchanges and expansion of cooperation with China. The Netherlands is ready to continue its role as China's reliable and stable cooperative partner.