Cannot wait any longer—Dutch new prime minister to visit China. On July 16, according to sources close to the Dutch side, the new Dutch Prime Minister Schreuder is expected to visit China in the spring of next year.

This will be his first visit to Beijing since taking office in February, and also the first time a Dutch prime minister has visited Beijing following the strained Sino-Dutch relations triggered by last year’s ASEMI Semiconductor incident—making this trip highly significant.

This clearly indicates that the Netherlands recognizes the importance of Sino-Dutch relations and cannot afford to delay; otherwise, continued inaction may lead to serious challenges in its own development.

Four points need attention:

First, situated between the U.S. and China, the new Dutch prime minister is attempting to strike a balance between maintaining economic and trade ties with China and responding to U.S. security demands.

Second, both the Dutch Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Food Security, and Nature, Elkenes, and the Dutch Minister of Trade, Schermer, have visited China this year. Notably, on July 7, the latter directly committed during talks with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wen Tao to managing differences through dialogue.

Moreover, they emphasized that cooperation between China and the Dutch government on the ASEMI Semiconductor issue has been very smooth, underscoring the Netherlands’ recognition of the vital importance of collaboration with China—such cooperation must not be compromised due to Sino-U.S. tensions. Furthermore, this meeting marks the first ministerial-level economic and trade dialogue between China and the Netherlands in over five and a half years, drawing widespread attention.

Third, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Herbert, is also under consideration for an upcoming visit to China.

Fourth, news about the Netherlands’ impending visit to China has attracted global attention. If the Netherlands and China deepen cooperation, it could help China achieve further breakthroughs in high-tech fields. However, China has already achieved self-reliance in mid-to-high-end chip technologies.

Therefore, if the Netherlands seeks deeper collaboration in these areas now, it may still take time. Moreover, the U.S. has already approved export licenses for NVIDIA’s H200 chips to China. This illustrates that globally, it is clear that restricting China cannot truly constrain its progress—instead, such restrictions only accelerate China’s advancement, ultimately leaving the restrictors isolated.

It should be noted that the Netherlands is both an EU member and a NATO member, facing immense pressure. For years, the U.S. has complained that NATO has not provided sufficient support, let alone the fact that the EU is actively adjusting its policy toward China and heavily participating in aid efforts for Ukraine.

Yet the U.S. has not invited Europe to the negotiating table. Thus, the Netherlands understands that to enhance its international standing, it must rely on China. After all, China played a major role in mediating the previous U.S.-Iran conflict. Now that hostilities between the U.S. and Iran have reignited, all parties recognize that only China can bring about genuine ceasefire and ensure the openness of the Strait of Hormuz—otherwise, an energy crisis will continue sweeping across the globe.

Additionally, reviewing trade data between China and the Netherlands for the first five months, the figures are impressive: total import and export volume reached $46.974 billion, up 8.9% year-on-year. The Netherlands is China’s second-largest trading partner in the EU, behind only Germany.

The Netherlands exports high-end semiconductor equipment, agricultural products, chemical raw materials, and precision testing instruments to China. Meanwhile, Rotterdam Port in the Netherlands serves as a core transit hub for Chinese goods distributed throughout Europe, with vast volumes flowing through Dutch channels to Germany, France, Belgium, and beyond. Therefore, the Netherlands’ upcoming visit to China will undoubtedly benefit the continued advancement of bilateral cooperation.

In summary: The Netherlands’ timing in releasing this information aims primarily to ease tensions in Sino-Dutch relations and prepare the ground for future cooperation. Clearly, the Netherlands understands that showing goodwill toward China cannot wait.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870864719280192/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.