Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt met in Brussels on
Thursday with visiting Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan, vowing to boost
the relations between China and Belgium.
During the meeting, Zeng lauded the smooth development of the
bilateral relations, according to Chinese diplomats.
Zeng said this year marks the 35th anniversary of the
establishment of the diplomatic relations between China and
Belgium, and the bilateral ties have witnessed "satisfactory"
development.
The vice premier noted that the bilateral cooperation has been
deepened in a wide range of fields like trade and economic
cooperation, investment, finance, environment protection, culture
and education.
The Chinese side was willing to join hands with the Belgian side
to elevate and expand cooperation in various fields like
telecommunications, nuclear energy, bio-pharmacy and logistics,
said Zeng.
Zeng also spoke highly of the Belgian government's adherence to
the one-China policy.
Zeng said China has always attached great importance to Belgium,
and China takes Belgium as a vital cooperation partner within the
European Union (EU).
China was willing to join hands with EU member states including
Belgium, to promote the China-EU ties into a higher level, he
added.
Guy Verhofstadt, on his part, also spoke highly of the marked
achievements Belgium and China had scored in various fields like
politics, trade and economic cooperation, according to Chinese
diplomats.
He said Belgium values its relations with China, extending the
hope for continuing high-level dialogue as well as for boosting the
bilateral cooperation in an all-around manner.
After the meeting, the two sides signed two pacts, one on
nuclear technology cooperation, and the other on strategic
investment cooperation.
Zeng arrived in Brussels on Thursday afternoon for a four-day
official visit.
(Xinhua News Agency September 22, 2006)
