Diner with Chinese Ministry of Transport
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Minister Li, ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you very much for your warm reception.
It is a pleasure and an honour for us to dine with you.
And, we have something to celebrate. Minister Li and I have just had fruitful talks.
We have extended the Memorandum of Understanding between our ministries for a further five years.
This is an excellent basis for renewed cooperation and exchange in the areas of road transport, inland shipping, port and airport development and civil aviation.
We laid the basis for this in April this year in The Hague, during Minister Li’s visit to my country.
I have been looking forward to this return visit to China, with this large delegation of world class companies.
I am also looking forward to seeing with my own eyes how an illustrious history and contemporary economy are combined in a society with a so very promising future.
Just like many of my fellow countrymen, I am very interested in the past and present of this diverse country.
Last year, parts of the terracotta army of Xi’an were on display in a Dutch museum. In the Netherlands, there was enormous interest in the exhibition.
Never before had the queues at the museum entrance been so long.
As I understand it, this was the first time that these historical objects had travelled abroad.
It was considered a great honour in the Netherlands that China was willing to temporarily place such priceless treasures in the hands of strangers.
But it is not only your illustrious past that commands respect in my country.
After decades of uninterrupted economic growth, even in this current global financial and economic crisis, the Chinese engine has hardly skipped a beat.
I have heard that in the first half of this year, China took over from Germany as the world’s largest exporter.
This spring, during the visit of Minister Li Shenglin to my country, I predicted (a slight bluff, I admit) that recovery from the global recession would begin in China.
I said that only then would other large markets, like Europe, be able to completely recuperate.
At that time, I had no idea that five months later China would already be moving in an upward trend.
It seems to me that this would be a festive thought with the celebration lying ahead of both the Moon festival and the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic.
For an export-driven economy like the Dutch economy, this is good news.
The Netherlands is making its way in the world with a mere 16 million inhabitants.
We are 16th on the world economy rankings, the fifth exporter and the sixth foreign investor.
Developments in China have a great impact on my country with its open economy and the port of Rotterdam as the gateway to Europe.
In recent years, the growth of Dutch seaports could largely be attributed to the flow of goods to and from your country. Already eight percent of the Dutch import is Chinese.
The port of Rotterdam copes with 2,3 million containers a year and is the third port of the world behind Shanghai and Singapore.
Look into it and you will see that much of what is shipped from here to Europe, passes through the Netherlands.
For example, the ports of Rotterdam and Shanghai complement one another seamlessly – they are twinned for good reason.
Over the course of time, increasingly more Dutch companies will set up branches in China, ultimately on a large scale.
The majority of Dutch multinationals already have an office here, including Heineken, Akzo Nobel, Shell and Philips.
The Netherlands is also an attractive country for Chinese companies, with Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and the sea ports of Rotterdam and Amsterdam.
Already 150 Chinese companies have an office in the Netherlands.
For example multinationals like China Shipping, Cosco and Hutchinson Whampoa.
And more recently companies like Huawei, Mindray and Haier have found their way to my country.
Ladies and gentlemen,
After three centuries of close trading contact it is no surprise that China and the Netherlands are natural partners.
Our cooperation is based on harmony and mutual understanding.
I am convinced that this will become even more profound in the years ahead.
I would therefore like to propose a toast to our friendship.
Ganbei! [cheers]
Thank you for your attention.