Visiting Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said Wednesday that the
Chinese National People's Congress (NPC) is willing to have more
contacts with Belgium's parliament to deepen understanding and
contribute to Sino-Belgian relations.
Wen made the remarks when meeting Belgian Senate President
Armand De Decker and President of the Chamber of Representatives
Herman Decroo, according to a press release from the Chinese
delegation.
Relationship between parliaments is an important part of
bilateral relations, the Chinese premier said.
Belgium's Parliament and China's NPC respectively play an
important role in their countries, he said.
The fact that China and Belgium have different political system
should not hinder mutually-beneficial cooperation based on
equality, said Wen.
De Decker and Decroo told the Chinese premier that the Belgian
parliament is willing to intensify its contacts and exchanges with
the Chinese side to promote relationship between the two
countries.
Wen arrived?in Brussels, the Belgian capital earlier in the
day for a two-day official visit to Belgium and the headquarters of
the European Union after winding up his three-day visit to
Germany.
Belgium, becoming independent from the Netherlands in 1830 and
was occupied by Germany during the two World Wars, has prospered in
the past half century as a modern, technologically advanced
European state and member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) and the EU, which are both headquartered in Brussels.
Belgium established diplomatic relations with China 33 years
ago, and it is now the sixth major trading partner of China in
Western Europe.
The trade value of the two countries increased to US$7 billion
in 2003 from US$4.898 billion in 2002.
(Xinhua News Agency May 6, 2004)