On January 20th, Ambassador Zhang Jun, accompanied by commercial counselor Wu Mingxin, attended the opening ceremony of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Amsterdam branch and delivered a speech. Mr. Jiang Jianqing, Chairman of the ICBC board, and Mr. Van de Laan, Mayor of Amsterdam, jointly inaugurated the branch. More than 200 guests from the Dutch Ministry of Finance, Central Bank, Authority for the Financial Market, Ministry of Economy, Agriculture and Innovation, chambers of commerce and companies were present at the ceremony.
Ambassador Zhang congratulated the official opening of ICBC Amsterdam branch and expressed thanks for support and assistance from related departments and authorities of the Netherlands. He said the opening marks a new step forward in promoting the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the Netherlands, it also shows Chinese enterprises’ confidence in the potentials of Dutch economic development.
According to Mr. Zhang, the past year witnessed a strong momentum in Sino-Dutch relations. By overcoming the negative impact of global financial crisis, bilateral trade between China and the Netherlands rebounded strongly and grew rapidly. The total trade volume in 2010 reached $56.18 billion, hitting a new record high after 2008. At the same time, mutual investment also increased steadily. Well-known Dutch companies including Philips, Shell, ING, DSM, Akzo Nobel and KLM continued to enjoy high profit return from their investment in China. Meanwhile, Chinese enterprises are also turning their attention to the Netherlands and more than 200 Chinese companies have opened their business operations ranging from finance to shipping, ICT, clean energy and other sectors.
Ambassador Zhang emphasized that as China enters an important stage in accelerating the transformation of its economic development pattern so as to realize scientific and sustainable development, it would give more impetus to Sino-Dutch bilateral relations and creates more opportunities for mutual cooperation in trade, economy and finance, hence helping the Dutch economy to develop further. He called for both sides to join hands and make concerted efforts in maintaining the right direction of bilateral relations, dealing with all issues appropriately, creating better conditions for bilateral trade and economic cooperation and favorable environment for business operation of enterprises, strengthening international cooperation in promoting free trade, fighting against protectionism of all forms and reforming international financial mechanisms and institutions.