Stability of Sino-Belgian ties mutually beneficial

Although Belgium's relationship with China might not be described as eye-catching compared to the others, its stability has made it a crucial anchor for China's relations with major Western European countries.

Since the establishment of ties in 1971, cooperation between China and Belgium has been moving forward steadily in various fields, and has continued to expand, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples. It has been 11 years since China and Belgium upgraded their relations to a comprehensive, friendly, cooperative partnership.

Belgium was one of the first developed economies to enter the Chinese market after the country introduced its reform and opening-up policy. "The Smurfs", a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest, has become an indelible childhood memory of the Chinese people born in the 1970s and the 1980s.

By the end of last year, Belgian companies had a total direct investment of $2.69 billion in China, with more than 1,400 investment projects, mainly in the chemical, food and life sciences industries. China's direct investment in Belgium was $376 million, according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi's visit to Belgium this week looks set to carry on that momentum as the two sides explore new opportunities to unleash the potential of their pragmatic economic and trade cooperation. To that end, the two sides should strengthen exchanges and cooperation in the field of scientific and technological innovation, giving full play to their complementary advantages, particularly in environmental protection, modern agriculture, biomedicine, civil nuclear energy and artificial intelligence, and to strengthen cultural, educational and youth exchanges.

That Belgium is among the six European countries, along with Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria and Luxembourg, for which China adopted a visa-free policy on a trial basis since March 14 last year indicates China's openness to cooperation and exchanges with Belgium.

China stands ready to work with Belgium to achieve mutual benefits and win-win results on the basis of continued mutual respect. China's pursuit of high-quality development is expected to create more opportunities for Belgium to share the development dividends of the world's second-largest economy.

By strengthening their strategic communication and political mutual trust the two sides can further tap the potential of cooperation, injecting more impetus into the common development of the two countries.

Therefore, China is willing to consolidate and expand trade with Belgium, deepen logistics and port cooperation, and actively promote the development of cross-border e-commerce. It welcomes more Belgian enterprises to invest in China, and supports more Chinese enterprises investing in Belgium.

The two sides should both uphold openness, adhere to market principles and provide a fair, transparent and nondiscriminatory business environment for each other's companies.

Oct 25 marks the 54th anniversary of the founding of diplomatic relations between China and Belgium, this year is also the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-EU ties.

As the Belgian proverb goes "Experience is the comb that nature gives us after we are bald", which conveys a similar meaning as the Chinese proverb "Distance tests a horse's stamina; Time reveals a man's heart", the development of Sino-EU relations over the past decades should clearly show they are an opportunity and partner for each other, not a challenge or rival.

China maintains a long-term stable policy toward its ties with Belgium and always regards it as a partner. In the face of the turbulent world, China and Belgium should work more closely together to promote an equal and orderly multipolar world and inclusive economic globalization. It is to be hoped that Belgium, as a major and founding member of the EU, will play an active role in this regard, as Wang told Belgium's Prime Minister Bart De Wever in their meeting in Brussels on Tuesday.

While deepening their economic and trade cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, China is willing to work with Belgium to resolutely maintain an international trade environment that is open rather than divided, orderly rather than chaotic.