Mr. Alexander De Croo, caretaker Prime Minister of Belgium, and visiting Chinese Vice Premier, Mr. Ding Xuexiang, met in Brussels, Belgium, on 19 June 2024. Both sides held talks on bilateral and China-Europe relations.
Mr. Ding is a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. He noted that under the guidance of Chinese President Xi Jinping and other Belgian leaders, the relationship between China and Belgium has yielded fruitful results in the all-round friendly cooperative partnership between both nations.
Mr. Ding emphasised the importance of establishing stronger political mutual trust. He also advocated for consolidating cooperation in economy, science, trade, technology, and green initiatives, as well as strengthening cultural and people-to-people exchanges. He noted that such cooperation would help foster the development of China-Belgium relations and benefit the people of both countries. Minister Ding stressed that Belgium and China share a common interest in safeguarding free trade and opposing protectionism. He also hoped their common interest would encourage Belgium to play a crucial role in enhancing cooperation between China and Europe, especially in managing their trade and economic differences.
Mr. Alexander also asserted that Belgium values its relationship with China and respects the one-China principle. Underscoring Mr. Ding’s hope of improved Belgium-China relations, Mr. Alexander stated that Belgium is committed to deepening exchanges, enhancing communication, and strengthening cooperation in several fields with China. He noted that such improved relations would surely encourage the sustainable development of Belgium-China as well as Europe-China relations.
The Kingdom of Belgium and the People’s Republic of China celebrated their 50th year of diplomatic relations in 2021. Since the development of diplomatic relations on 25 October 1971, both countries have maintained a smooth dialogue. There have been several high-level visits to the ministerial level, and there has been a warm friendship between citizens of both nations. Their bilateral relations are characterised by growing trade relations, increasing investments, and close cooperation on a multilateral level. Mr. Alexander De Croo visited China as the Belgian Prime Minister in January 2024 to promote bilateral relations between the two countries. Belgium-China diplomatic ties play a significant role in improving relations between China and the European Union (EU).
