China's commerce ministry holds roundtable for Belgian enterprises

BEIJING -- Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao has attended a roundtable in Beijing with representatives of Belgian enterprises, responding to their questions and suggestions, while discussing hot topics related to China-EU and China-Belgium relations.

The event, hosted by the Ministry of Commerce last Friday, was attended by executives from over 20 Belgian enterprises, who accompanied Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo on his China visit.

"The roundtable is the first of its kind in 2024, which fully demonstrates the great importance China attaches to China-EU economic and trade relations," Wang said.

China has never pursued a trade surplus, and has taken various measures to expand imports from Belgium and Europe, said Wang. He added that China is willing to expand cooperation with the European Union in various areas, and hopes that the EU will relax export restrictions on high-tech products.

China firmly opposes the EU's anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese electric vehicles and hopes that the EU will support China's high-quality new-energy products in contributing to reducing global emissions, he said.

The ministry will actively implement the consensus reached by the leaders of China and Belgium in the field of economy and trade, and promote the healthy and stable development of China-Belgium and China-EU economic and trade cooperation, Wang added.

The attendees from the Belgian side expressed their full confidence in China's economic prospects and business environment, as well as their willingness to further promote economic and trade cooperation between China and Belgium, and between China and Europe.

They also expressed their appreciation for the Chinese side's positive response to the questions and suggestions of Belgian companies on trade and investment in the areas of agricultural and food products, biomedicine and logistics.