Minister for Agriculture and Foreign Trade Henk Bleker has discussed with his Chinese counterpart, Vice Minister of Commerce Zhong Shan, the promising opportunities for trade between the Netherlands and China. During their talk, at a meeting of the Sino-Dutch Joint Economic Committee (JEC) in The Hague, they also reached agreements about building sustainable cities.
Promoting investment
Mr Bleker stressed in his meeting with Mr Zhong that Chinese investments are most welcome in the Netherlands. Maxime Verhagen, the Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, signed a cooperation agreement during his visit to Beijing in May 2011 in which China and Netherlands committed to promoting reciprocal investment.
Mr Zhong said that Dutch investors are making a valuable contribution to the Chinese economy. There are approximately 2,000 Dutch companies established in China, and in the years to come the Chinese market will offer an abundance of opportunities to Dutch investors.
Agriculture
China is an attractive high-growth market for Dutch agriculture. The great number of food contamination scandals in China in recent years has led to growing demand by the Chinese middle class for high-quality imports from abroad. Mr Bleker told Mr Zhong at their meeting how much attention the Netherlands devotes to food quality and food safety. He also promoted Dutch seeds, seedlings and veal.
Sustainable cities
The two ministers agreed on stepping up the partnership between Delft University of Technology and the Harbin Institute of Technology in Shenzhen. The Chinese city of Shenzhen plans to develop its Longgang district as an ecocity, a model of the transition to a knowledge economy and a sustainable city. This partnership offers Dutch companies and research institutes opportunities to pool new concepts, innovations and developments related to sustainable cities.
JEC
The JEC meets once a year, alternately in China and the Netherlands. Its aim is to promote exports and encourage Chinese investment and technological partnerships. Together with France, Germany and the UK, the Netherlands is one of only four countries that hold regular bilateral consultations with China.
