At a time when semiconductor cooperation has become one of the most closely watched developments in China-Netherlands economic relations, China has urged the Netherlands to foster a fair, transparent and predictable business environment for Chinese companies investing in the country and maintain the stability of semiconductor industrial and supply chains, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said. Commerce Minister Wang Wentao called for efforts to properly resolve business disputes between the two sides when co-chairing the 18th meeting of the China-Netherlands Joint Economic and Trade Committee in Beijing with Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, Dutch Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.
Sjoerdsma was accompanied by representatives from 17 Dutch companies from sectors including logistics, agriculture and hi-tech. The companies ASML, NXP, ASM, Nearfield Instruments, Groenland Group, Friesland Campina, Philips, KLM, KPMG, the Port of Rotterdam, MVRDV, Vion Foods, Power2X, AkzoNobel, IGM Resins, Signify and Optiver were represented in the delegation. Coen van Oostrom, President of the Dutch employers’ federation VNO-NCW, headed the business delegation.
The two sides have faced growing economic and trade frictions in recent years following the Dutch government’s export restrictions on advanced chipmaking equipment, and its measures affecting Nexperia, an overseas subsidiary of Chinese company Wingtech Technology. Wang told Sjoerdsma that China hopes “the Dutch government will play a positive and constructive role within the EU, encourage the EU to work with China in the same direction and manage differences through dialogue and consultation”. MOFCOM said it is now ready to work with the Netherlands to deepen cooperation in areas including advanced manufacturing, technological innovation, the green transition and modern services.
Zhou Mi, Researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing, said that despite a broad foundation for industrial cooperation, China and the Netherlands still face differences in sectors such as semiconductors. “If specific differences are properly managed through dialogue, it will help strengthen business confidence, stabilize industrial and supply chains and create a more predictable environment for companies in both countries,” Zhou added, as reported by the China Daily and the South China Morning Post.
