China, Belgium pledge to enhance cooperation

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said on Tuesday that China stands ready to tap the potential for cooperation with Belgium in the fields of biomedicine, microelectronics and modern agriculture.

Li made the remarks during a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo via video link.

Li said that this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Belgium, and China attaches great importance to bilateral relations between the two countries. China is willing to increase political mutual trust, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation, expand cultural exchanges, and promote the sustained and healthy development of China-Belgium relations on the basis of mutual respect and equal treatment, he said.

Noting that Belgium has strong scientific and technological strength in the fields of biomedicine, microelectronics and modern agriculture, Li said China stands ready to tap the cooperation potential in the above-mentioned fields, and will strengthen intellectual property rights protection to better achieve mutual benefits and win-win results.

"Both China and Belgium are staunch defenders of free trade. China is willing to strengthen dialogue, coordination and cooperation with Belgium under multilateral frameworks, and work jointly to cope with global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic," Li said.

Belgium is an important member of the European Union and Brussels is home to the European Union headquarters. Li said he hopes that Belgium will play an active role in promoting the healthy and stable development of China-EU relations.

De Croo said Belgium cherishes the cooperation with China and hopes to further deepen the political exchanges between the two countries, overcome the impact of the pandemic to strengthen direct exchanges, and expand cooperation on investment, trade, medicine, scientific research and intellectual property.

Belgium will work with China to support free trade and oppose trade protectionism, and play an active role in promoting the healthy development of EU-China relations, De Croo added.